The property market in Dubai has shown signs of recovery in the second half of last year even though the coronavirus pandemic has battered the economy. Bayut & Dubizzle said in its 2020 Annual Property Market Report that despite early forecasts during the height of mobility restrictions that prices would fall by much higher margins, the market has quickly recovered with price reductions largely being in line with the trends seen across the previous two years.
According to the Dubai Land Department (DLD), transactions worth over Dh60 billion took place in 2020 of which 20,716 were residential sales transactions worth Dh27.2 billion. Secondary residential sales in Dubai hit a 7-year high in November 2020. During the period, 3,928 transactions worth $2 billion were recorded in the emirate.
According to real estate website Property Finder, the top areas for secondary apartment sales in November 2020 were Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Barsha Heights (Tecom), Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Village Circle. The top areas for secondary villa/townhouse sales were Green Community, Arabian Ranches, Town Square, Nadd Al Sheba and Dubai Hills Estate.
Lynnette Abad, director of research and data at Property Finder told the media, “This year, no one ever expected for the market to rebound the way it has. November 2020 has broken records in the secondary market that stood for over six and a half years.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in [the first half of 2021] as these numbers are not sustainable. However, with Expo 2020 coming, we could potentially see a surge in the numbers as demand will be there from foreign investments.”
Property prices in Dubai declined 0.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020, its central bank said. Rents also declined by 6.9 percent during the period. The implied rental yield in Dubai moved to 6.6 percent in the third quarter, up from 6.3 percent in the previous quarter.