It’s Dubai and luxury villas that the world’s rich want for post-pandemic future

Dubai’s property market is finally booming as "lockdown dodgers" and wealthy international investors are diving into the buying frenzy that is fuelling the recovery. Luxury villas are the hottest segment, with European buyers in particular seeking homes on the Palm Jumeirah island, as well as golf course estates.

"Straight after that lockdown period, we started to see transaction volumes increase, and they really haven't stopped since," said Zhann Zochinke, chief operating officer of consultancy Property Monitor. "We're now seeing record month-on-month gains and transaction volumes."

"The lockdown dodgers from other countries - I think we're seeing a lot of that there," Zochinke said, adding that other draws were more relaxed residency rules and a decision to allow full foreign ownership of firms.

The surge in luxury properties valued at above Dh10 million has been striking with 90 transactions in April compared to around 350-400 units on a regular yearly basis.

"I think people have started to realise that Dubai is not just a construction site anymore, which it was maybe 10 years ago when we had the most amount of cranes in the world," said Matthew Bate, CEO of BlackBrick.

"People are now looking at Dubai and saying - I'm going to make this my primary home. I can work from Dubai and still manage business in Europe or North America or Asia," Bate said. "I think what COVID-19 ultimately did, it opened the doors for us to the rest of the world."

Sales of properties above Dh10 million rose 6.7 per cent in April compared to the previous month, and 81 villas were sold on the Palm in April alone compared to 54 in all of 2020.

Morgan Stanley credited 'a wave of government reforms' over the past 12 months, attractive mortgage rates, and a shift in demand patterns due to COVID-19 for robust demand and peaking supply.