2018 has been positive for ready housing units in the Dubai real estate market. There is a higher demand for ready housing units in the Emirate and also for properties that are nearing completion with real estate developers offering the same incentives in this space as they were offering for off-plan projects in Dubai. Almost Dh20.6 billion in ready homes was successfully sold in the period between January and November 2018 which indicates a slight 3% decline from last year. However, the decline in sales is higher for the off-plan segment in comparison to the same period in 2017. The ready homes market is seeing several incentives being offered by real estate developers which are similar to those being given in the off-plan category.
As a result, demand has been majorly driven by ready homes in the month of November 2018 although overall realty transactions have come down as per studies. The number of off-plan units sold (year-to-date) stands at 16, 031 which represents de-growth of 27% as compared to 21, 913 units sold in the first 11 months last year. 1, 394 off-plan deals took place last month. Ready homes had sales volumes of 10, 840 units till end November 2018 which is only a marginal decline of 2% as compared to 11, 053 units sold in the same period last year. As per experts, December should be a good month for ready property sales and there is steadily increasing demand which may make real estate developers deliver projects on time.
Dubai Marina is a coveted location for ready property buyers and 1, 461 units were sold in 11 months this year here. International City is also popular with sales of 939 units in this period. Other communities which are preferred by buyers in this category include Akoya-Damac Hills, Sports City, DSO (Dubai Silicon Oasis), MBR City, Meydan City, Culture Village, Al Furjan and Barsha Heights among others. New communities are expected to see growth in overall transactions in the near future. There is strong buyer preference in Jumeirah Village as well and the demand for mid-income housing communities should stay strong.
For villa projects, ready home buyers preferred the Springs and Meadows where 353 units were sold in 11 months and other popular residential communities were Al Furjan, Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah Park. Business Bay is still the top pick for off-plan unit buyers with 2, 260 units sold in 11 months this year which is higher by 9% as compared to the same period in 2017. 1, 425 units were also sold in Jumeirah Village Circle which is another popular hotspot for buyers.
