Dubai Real Estate Market Report — April, 2020

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – April 2020

In April 2020, Dubai's property market logged 1,752 deals with a combined value of AED 3.61 billion — a month sitting right inside the acute phase of the UAE's COVID-19 movement restrictions, during which most face-to-face property activity was halted. Measured on the apartment, villa and commercial basis used for the year-on-year comparison, volume slid 35% to 1,708 transactions while value fell 43% to AED 3.23 billion against April 2019.

Across the city the median stayed at AED 1,240/sqft. With viewings and registration offices sharply restricted, the month's numbers reveal less about genuine demand and more about how completely the lockdown choked off the flow of completed sales.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments were behind most of the fall. With 1,329 sales, apartment volume was down 31% on the year — 607 deals fewer than in the same month a year earlier, and the weakest April tally in the 7-year series. Value, however, gave up just 12% to AED 2.10 billion, since the deals that completed leaned toward the pricier end: the median climbed to AED 1,489/sqft, a rise of 43% and the highest April figure per square foot on the series, while the median ticket surged 60% to AED 1,277,048. Given how few transactions actually closed, that firmness in price is better understood as a marker of which buyers remained active than as evidence of widespread appreciation.

Villas tracked apartments on volume, likewise off 31% to 336 sales — again the lowest April volume across the 7-year series, and 154 below the prior April. The value figure held up rather better than the count, softening 21% to AED 1.08 billion. Prices were largely steady: the median ticked up 9% to AED 683/sqft, although that remains 13% under the 2014 base, and the median ticket was flat at AED 1,781,000.

Commercial almost disappeared. Only 43 transactions took place, a 77% year-on-year fall, with value crumbling 97% to AED 52.34 million. In contrast to the residential categories, prices also dropped sharply: the median shed 24% to AED 500/sqft — the lowest April price per square foot in the 7-year series — and now stands 54% beneath the 2014 base. At AED 1,002,980 the median ticket was 43% higher, but on such a slender base that number means little.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Outside the three main segments, 44 plot deals were recorded for AED 374.95 million, at a median of AED 374/sqft. Plots posted the largest median ticket of any category, at AED 4,808,000, in keeping with the land-parcel character of such transactions.

Primary versus resale

The market rested heavily on the primary segment, responsible for 87% of both volume and value: 1,479 developer transactions worth AED 2.80 billion. Resale supplied the other 13%, with only 229 deals adding up to AED 427.36 million. That skew fits a lockdown month — off-plan buys on developer payment plans could mostly be handled online, whereas resale of ready property usually hinges on in-person viewings and transfers.

Where the activity was

Marsa Dubai (Dubai Marina) topped the market on both fronts, producing AED 550.85 million in value and 229 transactions. Upscale villa districts stood out by value — Um Suqaim Third (AED 259.19 million), Al Merkadh (AED 254.93 million) and Downtown Dubai (AED 238.39 million) — while busy communities like Wadi Al Safa 5 (138 deals), Al Barsha South Fourth (124) and Dubai Creek Harbour (117) drove the deal count.

Rental market

Leasing carried the deepest imprint of the lockdown. New apartment contracts dropped 66.34% to 2,637, with the median new rent off 16.35% at AED 43,500; renewals fared relatively better, slipping 9.08% to AED 54,555 as existing tenants stayed in place. Villa and commercial leasing echoed the pattern — new villa contracts fell 45.35% and new commercial contracts 78.41% — as rents eased almost across the board. The single exception was commercial renewal rents, which crept up 5.26% to AED 86,310.

Supply

New supply came close to freezing on the launch side: one project delivered 127 units to the market. Handovers already in the pipeline carried on — 1,099 units across 3 projects were completed — for a net of 972 more homes delivered than launched. That imbalance suits a lockdown in which developers held off on fresh launches while pushing to complete work already underway.

Launched

• Binghatti Point – Nadd Hessa (Binghatti), 127 units

Delivered

• Qpoint Liwan-Plot Mu005 – Wadi Al Safa 2 (Mazaya), 656 units
• Oxford Residence 2 – Al Barsha South Fourth (Deyaar), 147 units
• Golf Views Podium – Dubai South (Emaar), 296 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 40,000,000 – Serenia Residences Building A, Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 18,600,000 – Bluewaters Residences 6, Marsa Dubai
3. AED 14,979,710 – Bluewaters Residences 4, Marsa Dubai
4. AED 12,992,240 – Bluewaters Residences 1, Marsa Dubai
5. AED 12,000,000 – Serenia Residences Building B, Palm Jumeirah

Top villa sales

1. AED 58,000,000 – Al Merkadh
2. AED 48,000,000 – Um Suqaim Third
3. AED 29,360,000 – Palm Jumeirah
4. AED 17,838,994 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
5. AED 9,725,000 – Jumeirah First

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and the category table take in every property category present in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale split, the top-area rankings and the year-on-year series relate to Apartment, Villa and Commercial alone, so those numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be summed across sections.

Rounding. The headline totals are the definitive rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded on their own and may not add up precisely to the headline.

Definitions. Price figures represent medians rather than averages. Year-on-year sets the period against the same period twelve months before. All values are in AED; areas are in square feet.