
Luxhabitat, a company gathering statistics on premium real estate transactions in Dubai and the UAE as a whole, has estimated that during first three months of the year the number of high-end property transactions in Dubai doubled compared with the last quarter of the previous year.
The total value of elite properties sold during the first quarter in such areas as Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Downtown and low-density villas area of Arabian Ranches was approximately AED3.2 billion ($ 870 million), almost twice from AED1.6 billion spent by investors on luxury housing in the last quarter of 2016.
Explaining the uptick in sales number, Luxhabitat’s luxury sales director, Ian Kirkby, said: “The main reasons include the new accounting policies from private banking in the European countries, changes in tax laws in India and the general global economic situation. A lot more UHNWIs [ultra high net worth individuals] are finding Dubai to be a safe haven for investing their properties.”
A recent research by Cluttons has also confirmed this latest trend. 27 percent of high net worth individuals polled across the region named Dubai as their most preferred city for real estate investments. Luxury residential property buyers most often pointed to the Springs and Bur Dubai as their priority destinations for real estate investments, while potential commercial units buyers most often chose Deira and Downtown Dubai.