Dubai sees property transactions worth Dhs154bn in 2012

Dubai Land Department (LD) issued 2012 property transactions report. Dubai saw total of 41,767 transactions worth more than Dhs154bn last year. This includes sale, mortgage, ijarah, mortgage portfolios, deferred sale and other types of transactions.

Commenting on the results, Sultan Butti bin Mejren the Director General of LD said that 2012 was a record year in terms of transactions which increased by 8% compared to 2011.

The size and type of transactions documented by the Department last year showed upward trend and sustained growth in the performance of the real estate market in the Emirate.

This is achieved through the direct support from the local government which spares no effort in enhancing the attractiveness of the market by launching distinctive initiatives.

“These initiatives enhance trust and consolidate transparency and accelerate the maturity in the market transactions which leads to the grown of Dubai’s overall economy,” bin Mejren said.

The Director General hailed the growing demand for real estate investment among UAE nationals and their keenness to effectively contribute in building UAE economy in general and Dubai in particular. The UAE nationals were the leading investors last year in terms of premium real estate deals, number and total value of transactions.

Bin Mejren noted that new positive phenomena emerged either in market trends and among investors, most notable is the diversity of sources of demand for various products.

The investors started to expand their investments as they focus on vacant and occupied plots along with the traditional investments in residential units of apartments and villas or commercial units such as offices, hotels or multiple uses. These trends demonstrate that investors are more aware of the significance of creating new channels of investment that were not so popular in the past decade.

“The confidence of foreign investors in Dubai properties is unlimited as more investors from different nationalities invested in this sector”, says bin Mejren. The quality and quantity of transactions and activities recorded by the LD demonstrates that the international economic crisis no longer effect the market which is immune from the economic crises in West or in other regions.

The official statistics documented by the Real Estate Studies and Data Section of Department of Real Estate Development in LD showed that the property market in Dubai had witnessed a large turnout of investors last year demonstrating Dubai’s full recovery from the challenges imposed by the international crisis and Dubai is proving once again the strength and durability of its economy. The market was stable in the last two years and more investors entered the market to buy properties and benefit from investment opportunities according to Bin Mejren.

He predicted that the market will continue to show strong recovery in the coming period which will encourage investors to increase their investments in the real estate sector in the emirate because of their confidence in the stability and commercial appeal of Dubai properties.

In details, the LD documented total of 41,767 transactions worth more than Dhs154bn last year. This is divided to sale, mortgage, ijarah, mortgage portfolios, deferred sale and other types of transactions.

The transactions’ report issued by LD showed that investors focused mainly on residential and commercial units’ sale and mortgage transactions; reflecting the growing confidence and stability in the real estate market. In 2012 these units saw 31,145 transactions worth Dhs38bn.

According to data collected by the real estate studies and data section of LD’s department of real estate development there were Dhs111bn worth of plot transactions last year. There were total of 5413 sale transactions on plots worth Dhs34bn while there were 3204 mortgage transactions worth Dhs75bn last year on these plots.

Overall mortgage transactions on units and plots had reached 31,145 transactions worth Dhs83bn. According to the report, the units saw 25,515 sale transactions worth Dhs31bn while there were 4300 mortgage transactions worth Dhs5bn last year.

Transactions on villas reached Dhs5bn, divided to 1282 sale transactions worth Dhs3bn while mortgage transactions on villas hit 671 worth Dhs2bn all over Dubai.

In 2012, Al Thaniyah 5 dominated the areas in terms of sale transaction with 590 transactions worth Dhs2bn. Dubai Marina and Burj Khalifa were the most traded areas in with 10554 transactions from various types worth Dhs17bn.