Dubai’s real estate sales transactions increased by over 27% in February 2024, from 9,371 deals in February 2023 to 11,900 deals, highlighting the ongoing market strength this year.
“Further leveraging the positive trends from 2023, the value of transactions experienced a remarkable upswing, reaching almost Dh36.6 billion and marking an increase of 35 percent compared to the same month in 2023, highlighting the strength and dynamism of the real estate market,” Property Finder, a leading property portal in the Mena region, said.
According to the portal’s research, two-bedroom apartments were the most popular rental choice, accounting for 35% of all searches. One-bedroom apartments came in second, accounting for 33% of searches.
Due to the continued momentum from the previous year and the rising demand for off-plan properties, Dubai’s real estate market saw a remarkable boom in January 2024, with record-breaking sales totaling Dh35.4 billion. This bodes well for the sector’s outlook in 2024. Compared to Dh27.9 billion in January 2023, January’s record-breaking increase of 27% demonstrated a sustained upward trend in recent years.
With over 5,500 transactions, the number of existing property transactions increased by roughly 23% in February compared to the same month last year. According to Property Finder’s report, the value of these transactions increased by 46% year over year to Dh23.5 billion from Dh16 billion in February 2023.
Off-plan transactions demonstrated higher demand, whereas 6,385 recorded transactions involving existing properties saw a 31% increase in volume year over year. Although the value of these transactions increased from Dh11 billion in February 2023 to Dh13 billion, a rise of roughly 18.5% year over year.
According to Property Finder’s chief revenue officer, Cherif Sleiman, the company’s performance in February carried over from January, suggesting promising prospects for continued success in 2024.
Sleiman said there was a remarkable surge in the real estate market in February with significant increases in both transaction volume and value. “This reaffirms the resilience and dynamism of the industry, reflecting positive trends and promising opportunities for investors and home seekers alike. It is interesting to see while existing property transactions surged in both volume and value, off-plan transactions exhibited even higher demand with a greater year-on-year increase in volume.”
According to the study, 59% of people who were interested in purchasing a home were looking for an apartment, and 41% were looking for townhouses or villas. In contrast, about 80% of renters in the rental market are looking for apartments, and the other 20% are looking to buy a townhouse or villa.
About 66.6% of renters looking for apartments choose furnished apartments, compared to 36.6% who look for unfurnished ones. Tenants who can afford to rent a villa or townhouse, on the other hand, have varying preferences; roughly 42.6% of them are looking for furnished rentals and 55.5% are looking for unfurnished units.
According to the portal, approximately 36 percent of tenants were seeking one-bedroom units, while 31 percent expressed a preference for two-bedroom apartments, and 22 percent were searching for studios. “Regarding villas/townhouses, 42 percent of tenants were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 35 percent were searching for four-bedroom or larger options. As for ownership, approximately 33 percent of home seekers or investors were seeking one-bedroom units, while 35 percent expressed a preference for two-bedroom apartments and 15 percent were searching for studios. Regarding villas/townhouses, 40 percent of home seekers were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 44 percent were searching for four-bedroom or larger options,” it said.
Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah were the most sought-after locations for apartment ownership. The most sought-after neighborhoods for villa/townhouse ownership were Mohammed bin Rashid City, Palm Jumeirah, Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate, and Al Furjan. Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, and Deira were the most popular locations for rentals. When renting villas or townhouses, Dubai Hills Estate, Damac Hills 2, Jumeirah, Al Barsha, and Umm Suqeim were popular choices.