Dubai to see up to 16,000 more property units in 2012

Dubai's property sector will see up to 16,000 new units come on the market this year, the head of its real estate watchdog said on Wednesday, adding further pressure to an already oversupplied sector.

Supply in 2012 will be higher than in 2011 when about 10,700 new units were introduced.

"Another 15,000 to 16,000 (units) are coming in 2012," Marwan bin Ghalitha, chief executive of Real Estate Regulatory Authority said at a conference. "Most of this supply will be from master developers.

"About 62 projects were completed last year. I am sure the supply from these projects are coming in 2012."

He said that 220 projects are now under construction in Dubai.

Dubai's property sector has been hard hit by the global economic downturn that began in 2008, with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled while property prices slumped as much as 60 per cent.

High-profile projects put on hold or cancelled include Dubai Properties' Tiger Woods residential and golf course project and developer Nakheel's kilometre-high tower.

Ghalitha said the value of transactions for land, villas and apartments rose 20 per cent in 2011 to 143 billion dirhams compared to 120 billion dirhams in 2010.

"There is still a lot of demand for real estate in Dubai but its selective long-term projects," said Galitha.

Dubai house prices are expected to fall by 5 per cent in 2012, after having fallen by two-third from its peak in 2008, a Reuters poll showed last month.
 

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