Property transactions surge 20%

With Dubai’s economy back on track, the emirate’s real estate sector is showing signs of improvement, with the head of Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) revealing that the value of property transactions grew by a fifth in the first quarter of this year compared with the last quarter of previous year.

“The total value of transactions in Dubai in the first quarter was Dh30 billion ($8.2b) with 10,554 transactions, which is up by 20 per cent from Q4 of 2010,” Marwan Bin Ghlaita, the CEO of Rera, has been quoted as saying by newswire Zawya Dow Jones.

“Price-wise, the market is correcting itself. We are seeing more investors coming in. The top three real estate investors continue to be Indian, Pakistani and UK nationals, but we are also seeing new nationalities entering the top 10 real estate investors such as Syrians,” he told reporters yesterday.

The main areas of attraction, ones that showed the largest number of transactions, were located in Wadi Al Safa 5, while the highest value was on the Palm Jumeirah, with 82 transactions worth Dh604m, he added.

Bin Ghlaita said he is optimistic regarding the real estate sector in Dubai.