The luxury real estate market in Dubai has picked up in the first half of this year after many years of lowering prices and sluggish transactions. Sales volumes have gone up by 4% across several prime localities in the second quarter in comparison to the first quarter and have increased 9% in comparison to the second quarter of 2016 as per reports.
Total sales volumes in the second quarter of 2017 have also touched a decent AED 3.6 billion (equivalent to $980 million) as compared to AED 3.4 billion (equivalent to $926 million) in the first quarter of 2017. Dubai has been witnessing a rapid contraction of its realty market from mid-2014 onwards and this was the time when there was a slump in oil prices, thereby affecting a major wealth generator for this region. Real estate prices in the Emirate have been going down from this time onwards.
However, industry experts now state that there has been a bottoming out of the market and it is displaying some signs of recovery or improvement. Reports state that average prime property prices have witnessed growth for three consecutive quarters, touching AED 1, 482 ($403) between April and June, 2017. The Palm Jumeirah is still the most expensive locality and the average price of a prime property here stood at AED 4.8 million ($1.3 million) for the second quarter.
According to experts, the increase in sales volumes of the luxury real estate market along with prices in the second quarter of the year is reflective of the growing confidence in the market along with more positive sentiments. Second-quarter information also showcases growing customer interest in villas in Dubai. There was an increase of 7% in transaction volumes for single-family mansions although apartments still take up the major chunk of sales figures. Out of 217 villas sold in prime neighborhoods in Dubai, the average property price stood at AED 12 million ($3.267 million).
The most expensive property sale for the second quarter took place when a villa was bought for a whopping AED 90 million ($24.5 million) in the posh Emirates Hills development. This development has been inspired by the uber prime Beverly Hills neighborhood in California. The second most expensive sale was for a villa that sold for a whopping AED 84 million ($22.9 million) on the Palm.
