Indians Account for Dubai’s Most Real Estate Transactions in 2023

Dubai’s real estate market continued to draw global attention, offering attractive returns to investors from all over the world, as well as security, a great lifestyle, tax efficiency, and a business-friendly environment for its expatriate population.

In fact, Dubai experienced a substantial population increase, surpassing 100,000 new residents in 2023, emphasising the city’s sustained growth and enduring appeal, according to Dubai Real Estate Market for 2023, published by Dubai-based real estate firm Better Homes.

Buyers from India and the UK accounted for the most transactions, with Russians ranking as the third-largest buyers. Notably, there was a significant increase in buyers from Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan and Turkey, indicating Dubai’s continued role as a global safe haven for geopolitical and economic stability, the report said.

“This interest is not limited to expatriates already residing in Dubai, but also to individuals with high net worth globally, who are eager to benefit from the booming real estate market in the Emirate,” the report said.

Some of the reasons for behind this significant increase in the demand of Indians to buy real estate in Dubai lies in the high value of capital, the high return in rentals compared with India, availability of 100% freehold properties, world-class infrastructure, the appreciation of the currency, and the golden visa.

The report also stressed that buying a property in Dubai stems from the idea of ​​owning a property in a global city like Dubai.

Residential Sales in 2023

The Dubai real estate market continued to break records in 2023, with 120,742 residential sales transactions, up 38% on the previous record of 87,454 set in 2022. This growth came predominantly from apartment sales, which increased by 49% to 94,155, the report said.

The villa and townhouse segment grew more modestly, up 9% to 26,587, largely due to a lack of supply in key communities. Off-plan sales were responsible for the majority of the growth in transactions in 2023, up 48% year-on-year.

This led to off-plan sales accounting for the majority of residential real estate sales, up from 48% to 54% of all transactions. This growth was from the sale of apartments, which grew by 63% year-on-year and made up 87% of transactions in the off-plan market.

Prices

The total value of Dubai property sold in 2023 was $87.68 billion, up 52% year-on-year. This outpaced transactional growth, giving a strong indication of rising prices. Overall, prices in Dubai rose by approximately 18% in 2023, an acceleration of the 11% increase seen in 2022, the report said.

This has put average prices at a record high, more than 3% above the previous market peak seen in September 2014.

Recently, higher interest rates have gone some way to dampen demand and price increases in the secondary market. If, as the market currently expects, interest rates begin to fall sometime in 2024, this would make mortgages more affordable, increasing buyer demand and putting further upward pressure on prices.

“However, Better Homes expect a significant increase in the number of new homes delivered in 2024, as developers begin to complete projects announced in the post-COVID era construction boom. If the new supply is delivered as expected, this could lead to a deceleration in the rate of price increase observed since 2021,” the report added.