2020 Dubai property market highlights

There is a good chance for property prices in Dubai to stabilize and start increasing by the end of 2021 in specific areas due to the following reasons:

1. The consistent increase in the sales volume of ready property for six consecutive months (August 2020 until Jan 2021).
2. The recent announcement of granting UAE citizenship to investors.
3. New property launches went down by 83% (3,700 properties) compared to 2020, where we had over 22,000 new properties launched. Also, Emaar announced to freeze the new property supply (project launches).

2020 Dubai property market highlights.

• The total property sales volume was over 35,500 transactions (-11.6%)  vs. 2019.
  • Off-plan 14,926 transactions (-19.7%)
  • Ready 18,277 transactions (-6.6%)
• However, there was an +8% increase in the ready property sales volume compared to 2019 -- when we exclude Q2 (the lockdown period).
• The total property sales value reached AED 72.5B (-11.1%) vs. 2019.
• The ready villa sales volume increased by +8.6% vs. 2019.
• Q4 2020 was the best performance for ready villas since 2017.
• Even though the market witnessed some stimuli regarding the LTV, the mortgage transactions were 19,078 (- 0.6 % vs. 2019 ) with a massive drop in the mortgage value of (-32.4 %) worth AED 87.4B.
• +2.3% increase in sales volume of the luxury ready villas (above 5M) compared to 2019.
• Compared to 2019, the off-plan villa sales volume went down by -29.4%, whereas the off-plan apartment by -17.6%.
• Increase in the number of agencies (+8%) and agents (+7%) who join the industry in 2020.
• Over 31,300 units delivered in 2020 concentrated in:
  • Dubai South 4,105
  • Town Square 3,467
  • Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) 2,957
  • Business Bay 2,905
  • Dubai Hills Estate 1,920
  • Damac Hills Dubai 1,711
  • Downtown Dubai 988

• Over 95,000 units are still under construction as of Feb 2021, mainly in:

  • Damac Hills Dubai 11,951
  • Business Bay 9,774
  • MBR City (Al Merkadh) 8,007
  • Downtown Dubai 7,697
  • Dubai Creek Harbour 6,905
  • Dubai Land (Misc) 6,137
  • Dubai Marina 5,781
  • Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) 5,331
  • Dubai Hills Estate 4,537
  • Dubai South 3,538

Top-performing areas in 2020

1. Off-plan apartments

   1. Al Merkadh (MBR City).
   2. Jumeirah Village Circle. 
   3. Dubai Marina.
   4. Business Bay.
   5. Dubai Creek Harbour.

2. Off-plan villas

   1. Al Hebiah Fourth (Tilal Al Ghaf)
   2. Wadi Al Safa 5
   3. Dubai South
   4. Wadi Al Safa 7
   5. Al Yufrah 1 (The Valley)

3. Ready villas

   1. Emirates Living
   2. Dubai Hills Estate
   3. Arabian Ranches 1
   4. Wadi Al Safa 7
   5. Jumeirah Park, Jumeirah Islands

4. Ready apartments

   1. Dubai Marina
   2. Business Bay
   3. Downtown Dubai
   4. Town Square
   5. Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)

The Dubai property market consists of many micro-markets; each offers a different lifestyle and supply. In other words, the price changes and demand will vary based on the area. Hence, we would recommend studying your market segment rather than having a generic look at the market.

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