Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Downtown most popular among property buyers

Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah continue to remain the most popular residential areas for property buyers followed by Downtown Dubai, says a new report.

“Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah remain the two most searched locations since the beginning of 2012 offering investors and buyers a proven option for solid capital returns,” Propertyfinder, a UAE-based real estate portal, said in its first quarter 2013 report.

“Downtown Dubai has risen to third place overtaking Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) as the development becomes more complete with the added attraction of Burj Khalifa drawing in more interest,” it adds.

In the first four months of 2013, Downtown has witnessed launch of four projects by Emaar Properties, the master developer, and one project by Damac Properties.

On the rental side, the most desired location remains Dubai Marina. However, JLT beats Downtown Dubai to take the second position.

The reports states that Palm Jumeirah has fallen to the fourth position compared to first quarter 2012 due to reasons such as sharp rise in rents over the past one year, community service charges not being paid and lack of amenities such as convenience stores.

Nakheel, the master developer of the Palm, has already announced plans to build Nakheel Mall which it said would open in 2016.

According to Propertyfinder, rents on average have risen across the city compared to same period last year, showing a more bullish rental market.

Renan Bourdeau, Managing Director, Propertyfinder, says: “The Propertyfinder statistics from the first quarter of 2013 have been particularly illuminating and seem to support the idea that rental prices are going up in the country, which is a clear signifier of market recovery.

“It also seems residents feel they have more money to spend when it comes to choosing a home, which is good news for the industry and the economy as a whole.”

The report, however, states that renters are more interested in developments that offer better value for money and communities that are complete with amenities than those that are incomplete or have witnessed higher rent rises.

Demand for units in “unfinished” communities, such as Dubailand, Jumeirah Village Circle and Business Bay have reduced with the report referring to rising rents in these communities.

Tecom has completely dropped out of the top 10 and this could be down to the lack of available units as the community appears to be running at 95 per cent occupancy.

The lowest rental band of Dh0-20,000 a year for accommodation has dropped considerably in popularity. The portal’s data also reveals there is a significant drop in traffic for low priced property with higher price bands seeing an increase in views.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.