ValuStrat, a property analysis company, has conducted a new study.
According to the report, the Dubai market delivered impressive results last year, with the value of residential property in the UAE's most popular investment city rising by 27.5%.
At the same time, the overall growth rate of the real estate sector began to slow. The ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) rose by just 1.7 % in December, down from 1.8 % in the previous month. At the same time, the pace of market growth has slowed for the fourth month in a row.
Despite this, residential property values are rising. Compared to November, the price of villas in Dubai rose by 2.1 % in December 2024, and on an annualised basis by an impressive 31.6 %. Interestingly, homes in areas such as Jumeirah Islands (+42.5 %), Palm Jumeirah (+42.3 %), Emirates Hills (+32.3 %) and Dubai Hills Estate (+32.1 %) rose the most. Villas in Mudon (13.5%) and Jumeirah Village Triangle (21.5%) were less profitable.
In contrast, the value of apartments in Dubai rose by 1.4 % in December 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 23.6 %. Among the most profitable were properties in The Greens (+31 %), Palm Jumeirah (+28.3 %) and The Views (+27.1 %). Apartments in International City (+16.9 %) and Dubai Sports City (+18.1 %) were the least profitable for their owners.
There was also an increase in the number of contracts signed to purchase apartments under construction in Dubai. While this indicator rose by 26.3% in December, the annual growth was a record 513.8%. In December, these transactions accounted for 71.1% of total property sales. In contrast, total sales of completed homes in Dubai's secondary market declined slightly (-8.7 % compared to November and -3.4 % year-on-year).
December also saw the signing of 29 contracts for the sale of turnkey luxury apartments with a total value of over AED 30 million. These properties were located in Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Jumeirah Bay Island, Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, Blue Waters Island and District One.
Among local developers, Emaar (12.8 %), Damac (8.1 %), Binghatti (7.6 %), Azizi (5.9 %) and Sobha (4.6 %) were the top sellers in December 2024.
The projects with the most transactions under construction were those located in Jumeirah Village Circle (13.1 %), Business Bay (10.2 %) and Dubailand Residence Complex (5.7 %). Meanwhile, the areas with the highest number of completed residential units sold were Jumeirah Village Circle (9.1 %), Dubai Marina (6.6 %), Business Bay (6.1 %), Downtown Dubai (4.8 %) and Jumeirah Lake Towers (2.9 %). In December, Business Bay Residential and Dubailand broke individual records for the number of under-construction residential units sold in a month.
Over 168,000 residential transactions were completed in the city during the year. 114,480 under construction units were sold. Their share in the total transaction volume increased from 54 % in 2023 to 68 % in 2024. In 2024, 142,000 units were launched in Dubai.