In Pictures: UAE’s offplan property boom is clearly heading for new peaks

2024 is half-way through, and all the data coming off the UAE’s property pipeline indicate that a simple formula is at work – Launch, Sell & Build. Offplan launches are having another exceptionally strong year, whether it’s to do with more super-luxury homes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi or the creation of high-profile residential destinations in Ras Al Khaimah or Sharjah.

If anything, the speed with which new offplan projects are hitting the market has only accelerated in recent weeks – with Dubai averaging one every other day. Simultaneously, developers are staying focused on the build side of things.

‘Super-luxury’ is a theme that crops up repeatedly. On Jumeira Bay, the Palace Group is making headway with its mansions meant for the ‘world’s elite, including A-list celebrities and billionaires’.

The Palace Group is active on the ‘majority of plots currently under construction’ at the ‘billionaire’s island’.

And the uber-rich keep spending on homes in Dubai, with Jumeira Bay capturing a lot of these deal flows. Early June, there was the sale of a ‘Sea Mirror’ home for Dh175 million, just weeks after another plot on the island fetched Dh125 million. In between, a soon-to-be-ready home was rented for Dh3.7 million.

In fact, big-ticket deals were happening all over town. Up at the Burj Khalifa district, a four-bedroom penthouse from Omniyat Properties at it’s the Lana Residences landed a neat Dh139 million. The development is part of the 'Marasi Bay' 12 kilometer 'waterfront promenade'. "We’re reimagining Marasi Bay, with a vision to create an incomparable ecosystem for global citizens seeking an uber luxurious way of living," Is how Mahdi Amjad, founder of Omniyat, views it.

So, that’s how H1-2024 has been for the Dubai property market. In fact, not radically different from how it has been in 2022 and 2023, for that matter. But can the pace be sustained?

“With the summer months ahead, we anticipate that the (Dubai) market will continue with high transactional activity and experience little to no negative impact of what has somewhat historically been a slower period,” the report adds.

What can investors expect in the second-half of 2024? More of the same, for sure – and more of super-prime ‘serviced residences’ getting launched. The category has done quite well in recent months, with one project – the Kempinski Marina Residences – netting confirmed sales of over Dh1 billion from the first 48 hours of the launch.

Investor appetite for branded services residences has also flowed into Ras Al Khaimah, whose property market has been on an unprecedented super-charged drive. The latest launch is the ‘NB Collection’ of bespoke villas on Mina Al Arab’s Hayat Island.

So, the narrative of growth continues for the UAE property market, with only marginal variations. As July dawns, how soon will it be before the next big-ticket deal gets signed off on? Or more records get set? One will not have to wait long…