UAE developers bullish despite price drop

Despite the fact that a UK-based property consultancy pointed to a 12.2 per cent price drop in the Dubai real estate market in the year to June 2015, developers here are having a bullish view on the sector.

On Tuesday, a new report by UK-based Knight Frank revealed that residential property prices fell 2.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Dubai, while annual decline was 12.2 per.

Nshama, a private developer, on Tuesday unveiled Jenna, the first residential apartments in the Main Square of Town Square development.

Residents will have access to over 2.5 million square feet of retail with over 600 shops and F&B outlets.

Sales will commence on September 5 with the company revealing plans for more new launches within the Main Square.

The joint venture between Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding are launching the second phase of the Island District in the multi-billion-dollar mega development Dubai Creek Harbour at The Lagoons.

Creekside 18, two 37-storey towers with 480 residential units in the Island District of the mega development, will be launched on September 12, property brokers told Emirates 24|7.

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest listed developer, is also releasing 1,000-villa project on the Yas Island.

Sales will open on this month for West Yas, the residential development, which the company says is aimed to deliver on the strategy that can drive the completion of Yas Island.
In Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Real Estate Development has announced launch of phase two of its Dh1 billion Falcon Island project.

The new phase includes beach and canal villas, with prices starting from Dh5.7 million.

Strong dollar impacts Dubai

The report by Knight Frank placed the emirate last on the Global House Price Index for Q2 2015.

The emirate, which topped the index in 2013 and 2014, is now behind Ukraine, Cyprus and Greece.

“Weaker demand, a strong US dollar and ongoing cooling measures were responsible for a dampening of sales volumes in the mainstream residential sector,” the report said.

In the first quarter 2015 report, Dubai was ranked 53rd of the 56 countries on the price index, which has risen by just 0.1 per cent in the past 12 months, its weakest rate of growth since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Of the 56 housing markets tracked by the index, 27 per cent recorded an annual decline in prices, as against 44 per cent in 2011.

Despite stringent cooling measures in place, Hong Kong and China were at opposite ends of the spectrum, with the former recording 20.7 per cent growth, while China registered a fall of 5.7 per cent.

“Increasing liquidity and the flow of wealthy mainland Chinese investors into Hong Kong’s residential sector meant the number of new homes sold in the first half of 2015 exceeded 8,700,” the report said.

Europe, which held the title for the world’s weakest performing region for 15 consecutive quarters, saw average annual prices increase by 2.8 per cent with Turkey, Estonia, Luxembourg and Ireland all achieving double-digit annual price growth.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.