Now’s When to Invest in Dubai Property, but Expect Little Returns

Bennett Oghifo

Prospective buyers of property in Dubai’s choice market are sure to close good deals, as prices continue to tumble rapidly this year, but they will need to tread water for nobody knows how long, before they can earn good returns on their investment.

Here is what home prices look like in the market presently. According to the Property Monitor’s (World Property Journal) latest Dubai House Price Index, “the average annual house price in Dubai decreased by 12% in March 2019, with some communities registering even higher price declines.

Arabian Ranches, Emirates Living, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Islands and Dubai Sports City were some of the communities that registered price declines of more than 12% on average.”

The Index said month-on-month, the price decline for March was 1.7% compared to 1.8% in February. House prices in the three months up to March were 5.1% lower than in the previous quarter. Overall, the average house price in Dubai decreased to under AED 2.6 million (AED 2.58 million).

“The rate of off-plan apartment transfers remained high in March, as has been the case over the past 12 months. However, the total volume of residential transactions over Q1 2019 was 3% lower than the same period in 2018. Meanwhile, the volume of apartment transfers over Q1 2019 decreased by nearly 14% compared to the same period in the past year.”

According to the House Price Index for March 2019, the average apartment price remained relatively stable at AED 1.8 million, with only a marginal change from February, “while the average villa/townhouse price decreased to AED 4.5 million. In September 2015, the prices for apartments and villas/townhouses were AED 2.1 million and AED 5.6 million respectively, indicating a decline of 17% and 19%.”