DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Dubai’s real estate market shows no signs of cooling down as sales figures and property values are expected to reach another record high in 2024, according to local real estate companies.
Rising demand for real estate, particularly in the luxury sector, is driving up the price not just of homes but of everything else in the city – just as the United Arab Emirates is expected to become the world’s biggest magnet for wealth for the third year in a row .
This is both good news and bad news for Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Dubai-based real estate giant Damac.
“What worries me a little bit about Dubai is that it’s becoming an expensive city. I’ve said in the past that Dubai is going to be an expensive city. Because whenever the demand is so great, especially when there’s talented people “Normally when people come, they create more demand,” Sajwani told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Riyadh on Tuesday.
“So today, it is difficult to get a seat in school… Of course, companies will increase prices and inflation will be high, so Dubai will become an expensive city,” the chairman said. “I hope the government can find a way. It’s not easy to find a way when people keep pouring into the city.”
The latest Dubai property market data tells the story of growing demand. According to data from local brokerage Elite Merit Real Estate, real estate sales reached 49.6 billion dirhams ($13.5 billion) in July 2024, an increase of 31.63% compared to the same period in 2023.
“In the first half of 2024 alone, there were more than 43,000 property transactions worth approximately AED 122.9 billion, a 30% increase from the previous year,” the company wrote in a report released on September 10, adding. The increase was partly due to “rapid absorption of new inventory,” the company said. The report estimates that about 80% of apartments launched since 2022 have been sold.
Aerial view of cityscape and skyscrapers in Dubai Marina at sunset.
Lu Shaoji | Moment | Getty Images
“The Dubai real estate market is doing very well and I think we will continue to do well because the demand in Europe is amazing,” Sawani said. “Everybody wants to go to Dubai, from the taxi driver to the waiter to the businessman … Dubai now is attracting a lot of not only wealthy people, but a lot of talented people. And it’s growing in a different level from pre- Severe special infectious pneumonia.”
The DAMAC founder noted that the Covid-19 period has significantly boosted Dubai’s popularity as a place to live: while much of the world remains in lockdown, the emirate is encouraging tourism and entrepreneurship through remote worker visas and entrepreneurship Attract new residents.
“No matter what, today’s Dubai is a global city that attracts a lot of talent and businesses, and we will continue to grow,” Sawani said.
Dubai has experienced erratic boom and bust cycles in the past, particularly during the 2008-2009 crisis, when the emirate’s real estate market collapsed and many investors had to default on their debts. When asked if he was worried about a similar cycle repeating itself, Savani said he believed the system was different now.
Asked if Dubai is more stable now, Sawani replied: “100 percent.”
“One of the key reasons for this is that the regulations that the Dubai government put in place after the collapse of ’09 or ’08 were very good regulations. They were very, very strict on developers, customers and zoning,” he said. “So regulation is helpful – not everyone can come into the market and start a project… There is very strict custody, so customers’ funds are very protected, and that’s why the market is very efficient.”
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