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28 March 2024

Which nationalities buying into Dubai real estate?

Published
By Parag Deulgaonkar

Indians continued to remain top expatriate property buyers in Dubai with their investment reaching nearly Dh6 billion in the first quarter 2014, data released by Dubai Land Department reveals.

British citizens and Pakistanis came in second and third on the expat investor list with investments worth Dh3.145 billion and Dh2.410 billion, respectively.

“Indians were at the top spot for international investment, both in terms of the number of investors (2,414) and the amount of expenditure Dh5.895 billion,” DLD said.

A total of 9,602 non-Arab investors from 111 nationalities bought properties worth over Dh20 billion in the first quarter.

‘Emirates 24|7’ reported earlier Indian, British and Pakistani nationals more than doubled their investment in Dubai’s real estate market in 2013 compared to 2012.

Indians had invested Dh18 billion, British citizens Dh10.4bn and Pakistanis Dh8.6bn in 2013.

Read: Biggest investor in property?

Total investment in real estate reached Dh35 billion in first quarter, registering an increase of 57 per cent increase over the same period last year. The number of individuals (133 nationalities) buying properties rose 81 per cent to 13,279 from 7,339.

Overall, total real estate transactions jumped 38 per cent to Dh61 billion in the first quarter 2014 compared to Dh44 billion in the same period last year.

Emiratis top buyers

Emiratis topped the list of all investors. A total of 1,228 Emiratis purchased properties worth Dh7 billion.

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states contributed Dh3 billion in the first quarter, with 583 Saudis spending Dh1.8 billion, Qataris Dh1.25bn, Omanis Dh344 million, Kuwaitis Dh312m and Bahrainis Dh160m.

Arab nationals outside the GCC invested over Dh3bn, which included 1,599 nationals from 16 Arab countries.

Lebanese represented the highest percentage of Arab investors, with 247 Lebanese investing Dh652 million. Iraqis came in second place with investments worth Dh561 million, followed by Jordanians in third place who bought real estate worth Dh548m.

"The diverse array of nationalities putting their money into Dubai’s property sector and the high value of the investments being made confirms the city’s attraction for real estate investment, especially when compared to other property markets in the region,” said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General, DLD.

“The increase in the value of transactions and the numbers of investors in the first three months of this year over the same period last year is something that can be attributed to Dubai’s promising economic outlook, the maturation of its investment environment, its strong infrastructure and its transparent legislation,” he added.