Dubai Dominates Global Luxury Real Estate Market with Exquisite Properties Exceeding $10 Million
The Financial Times reported that the growing demand for luxury homes in Dubai has pushed the emirate to overtake the most established centres of prime real estate for the first time in the world, as the recovery in Dubai after the epidemic continues to attract wealthy people from countries of the world, including Russian buyers.
Dubai is the busiest market for homes worth more than $10m in the first quarter of 2023, closing 92 deals worth $1.7 billion, according to research by real estate advisory firm Knight Frank, compared with Hong Kong, which recorded 67 deals worth $988 million, and New York $942 million in 58 deals, and 36 sales were completed in London at a value of $736 million.
Many of the world's wealthy people are heading to Dubai as a financial haven, as they compete to snap up a limited stock of luxury real estate.
"Dubai's luxury home market continues to attract the attention of the world's wealthy," said Faisal Durrani, Head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank.
He added, "Over five years, the number of home sales worth more than $10 million in Dubai has increased 17-fold."
London ranked first last year on an annual basis, with sales of 246 homes exceeding $10 million each, with a total value of $4.7 billion, compared to $3.9 billion worth of 224 deals concluded in Dubai.
Sanctions imposed on Russia and some prominent businessmen in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine last year have accelerated the influx of wealthy individuals into Dubai from both countries.
High number of Russians
The number of Russians in the UAE has increased fivefold since the start of the war, to 500,000 Russians, according to unofficial estimates are among the expatriate community.
Inga Prikolska, agent at Driven Properties, which has helped Russian families relocate to Dubai, said: “Russian demand remains strong, but now it is mainly concentrated in the ultra-luxury segment. Many come from countries such as Switzerland and Britain. And they often buy penthouse units with a full floor, with double high ceilings, and waterfronts.”
The value of property sales over $10 million rose to $3.1 billion in the first half of this year, compared to $3.9 billion for the whole of 2022. The value of prime residential properties rose by 44% last year.
Luxury home traffic has boomed in the broader real estate market, helping to push apartment and villa prices up 15 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, at the end of June, compared to the same month a year earlier, according to Knight Frank.