Dubai Real Estate Investment Up 57% In Q1 2014

Investment in Dubai’s real estate market totalled Dhs35 billion in the first quarter of 2014, up 57 per cent from the same period last year, figures from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) reveal.

The emirate’s real estate authority reported that the number of investors in Dubai’s property market had also risen notably. In Q1 2014, there were around 13,279 individuals carrying out property transactions, up 81 per cent from the 7,339 during the same period last year.

Emiratis contributed to the bulk of property investments in the first quarter of this year, investing around Dhs7 billion.

Indians continued to be the top foreign investors in the emirate’s real estate market with investments worth Dhs5.8 billion in Q1 2014. Britons poured a total of Dhs3 billion into Dubai’s property sector while Pakistani investors spent around Dh2 billion.

GCC states injected investments worth Dhs3 billion during Q1 2014, with investors from Saudi Arabia buying property worth Dhs1.8 billion and Qatari investors conducting transactions worth Dhs1.25 billion.

In the wider Arab region, Lebanese nationals spent around Dhs652 million in the Dubai property market, followed by investors from Iraq and Jordan with transactions worth Dhs561 million and Dhs548 million respectively.

“The increase in the value of transactions and the numbers of investors in the first three months of this year over the same period last year is something that can be attributed to Dubai’s promising economic outlook, the maturation of its investment environment, its strong infrastructure and its transparent legislation,” said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of DLD.

“The diverse array of nationalities putting their money into Dubai’s property sector and the high value of the investments being made confirms the city’s attraction for real estate investment, especially when compared to other property markets in the region.”

Dubai’s real estate prices rose more than 30 per cent in 2013 as the industry benefited from an improved economic outlook and the emirate’s Expo 2020 win. Surging prices have also led to developers launching a number of mixed-use residential projects in the last few months.

Though authorities have taken a number of measures to regulate the property market and reduce practices such as flipping and speculation, the IMF has warned of an impending bubble in Dubai’s housing market if current prices are sustained.

Recent reports have also suggested that prices in some areas of Dubai have reached 2008 levels, triggering fears of a bubble.