Commenting on the report, David Godchaux, CEO of Core, the UAE associate of Savills, said the current softening of Dubai’s residential prices offer investors a good opportunity to buy into a market which has strong growth potential over the next five years. “We expect prices in Dubai to rebound in 2016 as the UAE gears up for EXPO 2020,” Godchaux said. “The property market has matured a great deal after the government took measures to stamp out short-term speculators. We are confident that investors looking for long-term gains will do well as Dubai is a safe and established global business centre in the Middle East which has broad appeal to a range of buyers from the region and far beyond.”
Singapore and the UK took 3rd and 4th place respectively in the Savills survey, based on economic performance and growth prospects, alongside a growing population. China and Hong Kong occupy 11th and 12th places among the 14 countries. In these locations Savills see current pricing as cyclically high and offering poorer value for short to medium term investors. “These are still big and investable markets, but we’d expect to see rental growth and yield movement before they once again top our investability list,” said Barnes.
“It is vital that investors understand the long term demographic, economic and supply-side drivers of demand – and therefore sustainable value – when making investment decisions. These can be different at national and local level.
“When a growing population, growing affluence and limited housing or land supply converge, we would anticipate real house price growth. The absence of one or more of these variables can stall a housing market and the absence of two or more can send property values downward,” Barnes added.
