Dubai luxury market shifts towards trust, exclusive property access

Dubai: Trust and access to genuine properties are becoming increasingly important in Dubai’s luxury real estate market, as buyers look beyond online listings for homes that are actually available for sale.

A recent Dh24.4 million sale at District One West Phase 2 highlights this trend. Brokered by CBA Real Estate’s Fedy Arapi, the property sold for about Dh2,722 per sq ft, above the development’s displayed median of around Dh2,330 per sq.ft.

The deal was also well above the project’s recent median transaction value of about Dh14 million, making it one of the higher-value recent sales in District One West.

Wealthy investors

The transaction comes as Dubai’s prime residential market continues to attract wealthy investors and end users, while quality properties remain tightly held and sellers become more selective about who represents their assets.

For luxury buyers, the challenge is increasingly not finding properties online, but knowing which listings are genuine, whether the property is still available and whether the broker has a direct relationship with the seller.

“The real measure of a brokerage is not how many properties it can advertise. It is how much genuine inventory owners trust it to represent,” said Salman Bin Ali, CEO of CBA Real Estate.

“We currently hold billions of dirhams in exclusive inventory across Dubai. That puts us in a very different position because buyers, investors, brokers and companies know they can come to us when they need real access,” he added.

Bin Ali said the difference between seeing a property online and being able to access it is becoming increasingly important.

Harder question

“A buyer can see thousands of listings online. The harder question is: which property is genuinely available, who has the relationship with the seller, and who can actually make the transaction happen? That is where inventory depth changes the game,” he noted.

Fedy Arapi, portfolio advisor, said the District One West deal showed why relationships remain important in Dubai’s high-end property market.

“Deals at this level are not created by uploading a property and waiting. You have to understand the seller, know where the serious buyers are and position the opportunity correctly. The strength of the CBA network gave us the reach to bring the right parties together and carry the transaction through,” he added.

Bin Ali said the company is building its business around exclusive inventory, relationships and execution.

“We are building around inventory, relationships and execution. When billions in exclusive stock sit inside one connected network, you do not have to chase every opportunity in the market. Increasingly, the market comes to you,” he added.