Dubai residential capital values dip 11.1 per cent in 2018

Dubai: Dubai’s apartments and villas are indeed becoming more affordable for both buyers and tenants, with sale and rental prices continuing to register a decline.

The city’s residential property market posted an overall 11.1 per cent drop in capital values in 2018, with quarterly declines of 3.1 per cent, according to the latest data released by ValuStrat.

Since the last quarter, all established freehold locations registered price reductions ranging from 2.3 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

Among those that witnessed a fall in prices, villas in the Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Al Furjan, as well as apartments in Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Village Circle, posted single-digit declines.

In the Meadows, Jumeirah Islands, International City, Discovery Gardens, Business Bay and The Greens, capital values for residential units dropped more than 15 per cent.

And as prices fall, more buyers seem to be interested in having a piece of Dubai’s realty market.

Haider Tuaima, head of real estate research at ValuStrat, cited that off-plan sale volume jumped approximately 48 per cent, while ready sale volume climbed 25 per cent since the third quarter of 2018.

About half of the apartments sold out cost less than Dh1 million, while buyers who snapped up villa properties were mostly going for prices ranging between Dh1 million and Dh3 million.

Overall, landlords also settled for lower yield, resulting in asking rents falling by 8.5 per cent annually, although on a quarterly basis, rates slipped marginally at 1.2 per cent.

Leasing rates for apartments, in particular, dropped 8.9 per cent, while villas saw a 6.9 per cent decline.