NEWS

Dubai's real estate market continued its strong performance this year, with 689 hotel and commercial real estate sales registered in January, totaling AED 1.3 billion, according to data from the Land and Property Department.

Hotel real estate sales comprised 243 hotel apartment deals worth approximately AED 680 million, with the most expensive apartment selling for AED 47.5 million in Jumeirah Beach Residences, spanning over 5,010 square feet and featuring 5 rooms. The 149 hotel rooms sold had a total value of AED 200 million.

In the commercial real estate sector, 186 office sales were recorded, valued at AED 319 million, with Business Bay seeing the highest value deal at AED 22.4 million for 4,186 square feet of office space. Additionally, 111 shops worth AED 160 million were sold in January.

In 2022, Dubai's real estate market reached a record high in transactions and sales, consolidating its position as a hub for investment and business, as well as a preferred city for living and residence. Transactions increased by 44.7% to AED 430.26 billion, compared to AED 297.26 billion in 2021, with 122,044 transactions taking place, a growth of 46.23% from the previous year's 83,456 transactions.

Real estate sales also saw a surge, jumping by 78% to AED 265.5 billion in 2022, compared to AED 148.99 billion in 2021, with 97,478 transactions completed compared to 60,213 transactions in the previous year.

Overall, the real estate sector in Dubai remains robust, and the high level of transactions and sales reflect the emirate's attractiveness as a global destination for investment, business, and lifestyle.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fourteen years after a financial crisis nearly brought Dubai to its knees, several major abandoned real estate projects are finally showing signs of life as part of a new economic boom in the city-state.

As with previous upturns in Dubai, war is a driving force. But this time it’s Russian investors fleeing Moscow’s war on Ukraine, rather than people escaping Mideast battlefields.

“There’s lots of parts of the world where there are real challenges and people looking for a safe haven,” said Richard Waind, group managing director for Betterhomes, a real estate brokerage in the emirate. “I think that’s a safe haven both for the capital but also for their families.”

While there’s no sign the market could be in similar trouble as in 2009, some concerns have started to surface. Skyrocketing rental costs are worsening a cost-of-living squeeze for the foreign workforce that powers the emirate.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury is worried about the amount of Russian money flowing into the real estate market of the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.

“In theory, there should be significant reputational risk with the UAE apparently acting as a willing bridge, enabling Russian oligarchs to use the Emirates as a waystation between the Russian financial system and that of the West,” said Jodi Vittori, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has written extensively on Dubai being a money-laundering haven.