Xinhua: Confidence Back to Dubai Real Estate Market

Damac Properties, a Middle Eastern private developer of luxury real estate, said Wednesday that Dubai's prime property has experienced a 5.6-percent increase over the past six months.

"Confidence is coming back to the Dubai market and investors are looking to capitalize on some great offers," said Niall McLoughlin, senior vice president of Damac Properties.

He added that "Serviced apartments are seeing the biggest growth for Damac Properties in recent months with clients demanding the highest-quality design and furnishing."

McLoughlin referred to the latest report from independent global property consultancy Knight Frank, which tracks the top five percent of mainstream housing markets, shows that Dubai's market is continuing to see an upturn in real estate valuations in the luxury sector.

According to the report, Dubai remains in the top performing 15 cities worldwide and number one in the Middle East throughout the second quarter of 2012 with buoyant Asian markets and resurgence in the main European capitals providing a stimulus for growth.

The Dubai real estate market was hit badly in the wake of the global financial crisis since 2008, as property and rental prices plummeted 80 percent throughout the sheikhdom, and 57 percent of projects planned or underway were cancelled according to Citigroup.

Recent developments indicated a rebound. Earlier in the July, the Dubai Land Department announced the highest number of unit sales and unit value recorded during any July on record, reaching more than 2 billion dirhams (545 million U.S. dollars).

Damac Properties has completed 36 buildings to date with 7,374 units and spanning 13,132,484.00 square feet with projects in Dubai. Damac Properties also has a further 50 buildings at various stages of progress across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Regarding the expected further development, McLoughlin said, " We are set to see an increase in valuations throughout the rest of the year and into 2013."

"We are seeing a longer-term view to the Dubai real estate market with investors from all over the world, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Russia and India looking to Dubai for sound investments," he added.

From: Xinhua
Time: 2012-08-08