It seems like every day some new development is announced about Dubai real estate. It’s hard to keep up with all of the happenings without a dedicated international news site devoted to this issue.
We’ve put together a list of what we think are the most important events in Dubai real estate for the past few weeks, and why they are important. Though there are plenty of other notable happenings, these 5 events made waves that will be felt throughout the world for years to come.
1. World first luxury real estate project in the world of few million dollars is planned
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In the past few weeks, the head of Dubai’s developer Nakheel announced that his company is working on a luxury residential development in the United Arab Emirates for US$ 1 million. In 2012, he said that his company had completed only 15% of the required construction work for this project, which is now expected to take more than ten years to complete.
2. The government of Dubai issues new permits for the acquisition of the real estate
The government issued a new directive (NOC 3/32), which gives non-UAE nationals the ability to buy land in the United Arab Emirates. The NOC requires that any property sold to a non-UAE national must go through an approval process that involves an identity check and a review by the emirate’s Land Department. It is unclear whether this is going to have a significant impact on the UAE real estate market, but it’s one more thing to add to all of the other factors affecting prices at this time.
3. The price of real estate in Dubai fell by an average of 15%
Recent data shows that prices for properties in major real estate markets in Dubai fell by an average of 15 percent. Many analysts predict that this trend will continue or even accelerate, especially since Dubai issued new visa regulations for non-UAE nationals at the beginning of 2014. The government hopes that growing interest from foreign citizens will help to diversify its economy, and the emirate was chosen as a focus market for new business immigration by the U.S.-based Green Card Lottery.
4. Huge projects in Dubai’s urbanization process are under development
The plans for large-scale urban renewal projects in Dubai continue to be updated, as the city has developed significantly since it regained its status as a free zone back in the early 1990s. The past few weeks saw the announcement of 50 new projects that would add more than 100,000 new apartments to Dubai’s already teeming housing market. In addition, there are several other initiatives approved by the federal government that will contribute to the urbanization process this year. It still remains unclear whether these will have any significant impact on prices at a national level, but they might be much easier to access than was once thought.
5. Qatar has become Dubai’s number one real estate market (2014 )
The data shows that Qatar is now Dubai’s number one real estate market for foreign buyers, according to a new report. The report was produced by the Emirates Land Department, and it showed the proportion of properties sold to non-citizens in various emirates. In total, 21% of all properties sold last year were bought by non-UAE nationals. This figure is expected to grow even further as a result of the recent price drops in many markets. The most popular areas for foreign buyers include Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR), Palm Jumeirah, and Business Bay.