The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has revealed that real estate transactions in the emirate for the first three months of 2018 surged to more than Dh58 billion ($15.7 billion) through 13,759 sales.

 

According to the report issued by DLD’s Department of Real Estates Studies and Research, the first quarter saw a total of 9,092 sales transaction worth about Dh19 billion, 3,717 mortgage transactions worth over Dh30.6 billion, and 950 other transactions valued at Dh8.4 billion.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Sultan Butti bin Mejren, the director-general of DLD, said: "The Dubai real estate market continues to show continuous growth, driven by general optimism and confidence in the real estate sector."

 

"Achieving almost Dh58 billion in transactions shows strong momentum in the real estate sector for Q1, and we expect this to raise the Q2 transaction index and continue to rally before the end of the year," he noted. 

 

"Analysts and experts predict an upsurge as we enter 2019 with unprecedented strength, as many strategic infrastructure projects are due to be completed in Dubai in preparation for Expo 2020," he stated.

 

Bin Mejren said: "These results have been achieved thanks to our commitment to our leadership’s vision of achieving the highest levels of excellence and developing innovative services that enhance cooperation among investors. Dubai remains an attractive destination for investors seeking a safe return on investment, which is evident from the emirate’s base of investors, who belong to more than 217 nationalities from all over the world."

 

Assessing the top players in Dubai’s real estate market, DLD has confirmed that GCC investors led the way, making nearly 2,500 transactions worth around Dh6 billion, while 1,067 investors from other Arab countries concluded 1,250 operations worth more than Dh2 billion. 

 

The first quarter also saw 5,041 investors foreign making more than 5,000 transactions with a total value exceeding Dh10 billion.

 

UAE nationals outnumbered all other nationalities including Gulf, Arab and foreign countries, totalling Dh4 billion through 1,587 transactions made by 1,264 investors, according to data released by DLD. 

 

They were followed directly by the 1,387 Indian nationals who invested Dh3 billion through 1,550 transactions. Saudis came in third place with investments of nearly Dh1.3 billion, Pakistan and the UK followed on fourth and fifth spot, and Chinese, Egyptian, Russian, Jordanian and Canadian nationalities ranked from the 6th to 10th respectively.

 

Regarding sales, Business Bay topped the list with 973 transactions worth almost Dh2 billion, followed by Dubai Marina with 720 deals worth Dh1.371 billion. Al Barsha South came in third place with 681 sales worth Dh1.140 billion.

 

Brokers benefited from an increase in demand for Dubai properties and made up to Dh240 million in the land, building and residential unit sales, said the DLD in its statement. 

 

The number of real estate permits issued reached 1,773 during the same period, while the number of real estate offices reached 2,165. 

 

According to DLD’s statistics, Dubai is now home to a total of 6,177 real estate brokers. The report also detailed female investors as showing substantial input in the first quarter, with 2,780 investments exceeding Dh4.4 billion in value.-TradeArabia News Service