casa-del-sole.jpg
Casa Del Sole, still partially under construction, will be completed in early 2023. Image Credit: Alpago Properties

A mansion built on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah island has become the most expensive home to be sold in the emirate, the latest real-estate record as the city’s luxury property sales surge.

The villa, called Casa Del Sole, fetched Dh302.5 million ($82.4 million) when it was sold in July, according to its developer Alpago Properties. The firm declined to name the buyer, citing privacy concerns. The mansion was bought without a mortgage, according to partially redacted title deed seen by Bloomberg.

The mansion is built on Frond G of the Palm Jumeirah, and stands on a stretch of land known as Billionaires’ Row.

Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s firm previously set the record after reportedly buying for $80 million a 10-bedroom villa for his youngest son on the island, people familiar with the matter said in August.

Property prices have climbed in Dubai over the past year as the government’s handling of the pandemic and its liberal visa policies have attracted more expats. In particular, the luxury end of the real-estate market has benefited from a slew of new government policies such as long-term Golden Visas.

“We developed six villas and have nearly sold all of them,” Murat Ayyildiz, founder and chairman at Alpago Group said in an interview.

Casa Del Sole, still partially under construction, will be completed in early 2023 and is set to have eight bedrooms and 18 bathrooms. The amenities will include a gym, cinema, bowling alley, jacuzzi and a basement car parking that fits 15 vehicles. It’s one of six villas developed by Alpago on the Palm Jumeirah. The cheapest of those sold for Dh128 million, according to the firm.

Sales of homes valued at Dh100 million and above have surged this year with 12 transactions compared to five in 2021, according to Prathyusha Gurrapu, head of research and advisory at Core.

“This has been a bumper year for prime residential transactions overall,” Gurrapu said. “If you look at transactions with values of above Dh10 million or above Dh20 million, pretty much all ticket sizes saw an increase in sales.”