With record-breaking sales of Dh35.4 billion in January 2024, Dubai’s real estate market saw an incredible boom. This indicates a positive outlook for the sector in 2024, as the demand for off-plan properties continues to grow and the previous year’s momentum continues.
Setting new records, January 2024 saw a significant 27% increase from Dh27.9 billion in January 2023, demonstrating a sustained upward trend in recent years.
According to Property Finder’s data, the number of recorded sales transactions has increased by 17% year over year to over 11,000, up from 8,712 in January 2023.
Cherif Sleiman, chief revenue officer at Property Finder, said January built on the great momentum from last year, revealing positive scope for sustained successes in 2024. “It’s interesting to see off-plan gain further traction, promising demand for new projects. As a leading proptech portal, we continue to keep our eyes on evolving consumer choices, with an aim to empower our partners and property seekers to make more informed decisions within this thriving real estate landscape.”
With 6,000 recorded transactions and a volume increase of about 25% year over year, off-plan activity indicated higher demand. Values increased by about 21% year over year to approximately Dh15 billion, from Dh12.2 billion in January 2023.
A Zazen Properties report claims that the robust off-plan real estate market in Dubai helped drive the UAE market as a whole to reach Dh455.7 billion in sales in 2023. Going forward, demand is anticipated to exceed supply, which means that the off-plan sector will support the growth of the market as a whole in 2024 and beyond. Demand still outpaces supply despite the completion of over 60,000 units, as Dubai’s population is expanding at one of the fastest rates in the world.
Dubai emerged as a prominent bright spot in 2023, due to a thriving tourism industry that boosted domestic demand. The city’s sales value of Dh160.46 billion in 2023 increased by 72.3% over Dh93 billion in 2022.
According to data from Property Finder, approximately 58% of prospective buyers were looking for an apartment, and 42% were looking for villas or townhouses. On the other hand, 20% of renters were looking for villas or townhouses, while 80% of tenants in the rental market were looking for apartments.
The portal’s research revealed that roughly 62.2 percent of tenants seeking apartments were found to choose furnished properties, while 36.1 percent were searching for unfurnished options. “In contrast, tenants who are able to afford villa/townhouse rentals revealed the opposite, with about 57 percent seeking unfurnished units and 42 per cent looking for furnished options,” Property Finder said in its report.
Approximately 36 percent of tenants searched for one-bedroom units, 31 percent for two-bedroom apartments, and 22 percent for studios. For villas/townhouses, 43 percent of tenants were looking for three-bedroom units, and 34 percent looked for four-bedroom or larger options. As for ownership, 33 percent were seeking one-bedroom units, 36 percent searched for two-bedroom apartments, and 14 percent for studios. Regarding Villas/Townhouses, 40 percent were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 44 percent were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.
Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah were the most sought-after locations for apartment ownership. Villas and townhouses were most sought after in Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan, and Damac Hills properties. Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, and Deira were the most popular locations for rentals. When looking to rent villas or townhouses, Dubai Hills Estate, Al Barsha, Damac Hills 2, Jumeirah, and Umm Suqeim were popular choices.
According to the data, there have been over 5,000 property transactions, representing an approximate 8.0% increase in volume year over year. Comparing January 2023 to January 2023, the value of these transactions increased by 31% annually to reach Dh21 billion from Dh15.7 billion.