Focusing in on buyer demand

One expert notes that one thing that has been ignored in Dubai's realty is the pattern of buyer behaviour in the secondary markets. There have been two main underlying themes in the residential real estate space that have dominated headlines this year — the flurry of off-plan projects and the slowdown in price and transactional activity (40% on a year-on-year basis).
According to Sameer Lakhani, managing director, Global Capital Partners, what has been ignored is the pattern of buyer behaviour in the secondary markets. That is to say that even as overall activity declined significantly, there has been a continued steady uptick in mortgage activity (an increase of 18% this year).
More tellingly, this increase has been predominant in the two-bedroom space in the apartment sector (37% of all apartment mortgages this year has been in this category, with three-bedrooms following closely with 21%. Then came the three- and four-bedroom villa space (cumulatively accounting for more than 65 % of all villa mortgages).
"When a granular analysis is done, what emerges is community concentration, with JLT and Dubai Marina emerging as the top spots for mortgages among apartment buyers. Sports City and Jumeirah Village Circle recorded the highest percentage increase in this segment on a year-on-year basis, while Emirates Living and Arabian Ranches were the preferred destination for villa buyers."