A report from the real estate sector showed on Tuesday that sales of homes worth $10 Million or more in Dubai rose six percent during the first quarter of the year compared to last year, with no significant signs of a decline in the demand of the world’s wealthy people for homes in the emirate.
Real estate consulting firm Knight Frank reported that a total of 105 homes were sold for a total value of $1.73 Billion from January to March, up from about $1.6 Billion the previous year.
Cash buyers dominated this recovery, and Palm Jumeirah, an artificial palm-shaped island, was the most popular area, accounting for 36.3 percent of sales in terms of total value, followed by Jumeirah Bay Island and Dubai Hills Estate.
According to Knight Frank, Dubai ranked first in the world last year in terms of the number of home sales worth more than $10 Million, as it sold about 80 percent more of those properties than London, which ranked second.
Knight Frank reported in February that the city also bucked a general trend of falling luxury property prices in cities such as London and New York last year, recording double-digit gains.
Faisal Durrani, head of research for the Middle East and Africa at Knight Frank, said: “The level of transaction activity in Dubai continues to strengthen, especially in luxury units in the market, where there is an almost constant influx of foreigners with high net worth competing for the most expensive homes in the city.”
Durrani added that Dubai has benefited from the relative affordability of its high-end homes, as wealthy buyers can purchase residential spaces of about 91 square meters for $1 Million, “about three or four times what you get in most major global cities,” which represent entry points.
He added that the strong demand indicates that many international investors are buying properties in Dubai as a second home rather than continuous short-term purchases, referring to the practice of buying in order to quickly sell to others for a larger amount.