Dubai’s real estate market recorded 39,802 transactions worth Dh162 billion ($44 billion) from the start of the year till the end of September reflecting growth driven by optimism among investors and developers, a media report said.

The first nine months of 2018 recorded 25,473 sales transactions worth more than Dh56.6 billion, about 11,000 mortgage transactions worth over Dh86 billion, and 3,486 other transactions valued at Dh 19.3 billion, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing a report issued by DLD’s Department of Real Estates Studies & Research.

Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of DLD, said: "The positive results of these decisions are evident in the prevalent confidence among the various relevant parties in the market. These positive repercussions will continue to resonate in the short and long terms by introducing new sales categories for either personal use or for investing."

During the first nine months of the year, Dubai received 27,174 investments through 21,605 investors, totalling nearly Dh50 billion, reflecting the emirate's sustained growth for years, consolidated by the huge diversity of investors from the UAE, the GCC, the Arab World, and the world at large.

In total, the investments came from 163 nationalities, of which 16 were Arab, five from the GCC, and 142 were other nationals. When looking at the list of top 10 investors by nationality, the Emiratis and Indians competed head to head to top the list, with the former recording 4,112 investments worth Dh9.4 billion, while the latter recorded 4,676 investments worth Dh8.6 billion.

The Saudis came third with 1,882 investments worth around Dh3 billion, followed by Pakistanis who recorded 1,851 investments worth Dh2.3 billion, and UK nationals ranked fifth with 1,761 investments worth over Dh3.4 billion. The list of top 10 investors by nationality also included Dubai residents from China, Egypt, Jordan, Canada, and Russia respectively.

GCC nationals displayed a strong demand for investment in the first nine months of the year, and the report revealed that their transactions exceeded Dh 13.7 billion through 6,681 transactions made by 4,904 investors. Emiratis topped the list of the highest GCC investors, followed by citizens of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, respectively.

Referring to Arab investments in Dubai, the report revealed that Dubai’s real estate market welcomed investors from 16 Arab nationalities, where a total of 2,894 investors recorded 3,607 investments worth around Dh6 billion. Jordanians topped the list of highest Arab investors with 644 investments by 548 investors, worth over Dh1.2 billion, followed by Egyptians who recorded 719 transactions made by 623 investors, worth over Dh1 billion. Iraqis and Lebanese investors came third and fourth respectively.

A total of 142 foreign nationalities chose Dubai as a destination for their investments. Up to13,821 investors concluded 16,900 investments worth over Dh30.2 billion, reaffirming bin Mejren’s opinion when talking about the diversity of the investor base that helped Dubai’s real estate market demonstrate its ability to compete with other destinations while enhancing investor confidence in the market.

The top four foreign nationalities who invested in Dubai are Indians, Britons, Pakistanis, and Chinese people. Indian investments were worth over Dh8.6 billion, significantly exceeding British investments who came second with investments worth over Dh3.4 billion. Pakistanis recorded Dh2.3 billion in investments, while the Chinese pumped Dh1.7 billion into Dubai’s real estate market.

Out of the total investments, women recorded 7,758 investments totalling Dh13 billion.

In the list of top 10 areas in terms of the numbers and values of real estate transactions in the Dubai market during the first nine months of 2018, Business Bay topped the list with 2,644 transactions worth Dh5.312 billion and Dubai Marina came in second. The remaining eight areas went to Al Barsha South Fourth, Al Merkadh, Al Warsan 1, Jebel Ali First, Burj Khalifa, Al Thanyah Fifth, Al Hebiah Fourth, and Al Yelayiss 2.

In terms of mortgages, Dubai Marina listed 736 transactions worth Dh2.238 billion, Al Thanyah Fifth came in second with 640 transactions totalling Dh1.356 billion, and Business Bay recorded 590 transactions exceeding Dh3.7 billion, topping the list in terms of value. The remaining seven areas went to Jebel Ali First, Al Barsha South Fourth, Burj Khalifa, Al Hebiah Third, Palm Jumeirah, Al Thanyah Fourth, and Al Thanyah Third.