Dubai: More global cities have overtaken Dubai in the pace at which their luxury home values are gaining — the emirate is now placed at the 27th spot in the latest rankings issued by Knight Frank. The consultancy rates San Francisco at the top, with a gain of 14.3 per cent in the 12 months to March 15. In comparison, Dubai’s premium homes were down 1.1 per cent during the period.
Developers and investors can see it as an opportunity. It would not have been in their best interests — and of the market’s — if values had remained stuck at inflated highs. It may be no accident then that in the last four weeks, developers such as Damac, Cayan, Palma Development and RP Global have had launches with price tags very much in the premium/super-premium space. And Cayan confirmed that the first 100 units at its Cantara project were sold in two weeks, prompting it to go in for second release immediately.
So, even as transactions in the wider market remain stuck in a lower gear, some developers — either at the premium end or those enticing buyers with ‘affordable’ concepts — are not breaking into a sweat when selling.
Developers selling super-premium can take heart from another detail put out by Knight Frank — according to a survey by the consultancy, 36 per cent of high networth investors from the Middle East have plans to buy a home in the next 12 months. (In the Knight Frank ‘Global Cities Index’, eight cities — London, Dubai and Hong Kong among them — outperformed the index since the low in the second quarter of 2009.”
Meanwhile, another report, this one issued by MPM Properties, says there will be increased activity at the affordable end of the market.
“The amount of new projects in the Dubai market means properties will increasingly need to appeal to potential buyers’ sense of value,” said Paul Maisfield, CEO of MPM Properties. “That means a shift towards more affordable properties, particularly close to the Expo 2020 site, and an emphasis on incentives and unique selling points, especially in the luxury segment. We expect buyers to benefit from these trends.”
