There has been a sharp increase in the number of off-plan properties being put up for sale in Dubai’s secondary market,Gulf News reported.
Owners of these units apparently believe trying to sell now will better protect their exposure rather than holding on to them. In the last four weeks, the incidence of such activity has shot up by 20%, according to market sources.
On most of these off-plan secondary market listings, the investors had paid 30-40% of the property’s value, as per the strict requirements Dubai’s leading developers had in place to curb speculation.
“It’s the high-end off-plan properties — priced at AED1,500 per square foot and over — that are figuring most prominently in the recent secondary listings,” said Sameer Lakhani, managing director at Global Capital Partners (GAC).
“This applies [not only] to off-plan units in Dubai Marina and Downtown but [also] off-plan releases in some of the other premium locations in Dubai are seeing attempts by investors to sell-off rather than hold."
“What investors are doing here closely mirrors what their counterparts holding high-value assets have been doing in India or Singapore once the realty market enters a difficult trading phase.”