Recent data found by Property Finder, the property portal in the MENA region, revealed key figures on Dubai’s consistently flourishing property market. According to Property Finder’s data, in March 2023 real estate transactions recorded around a 45% YoY increase in volume by crossing 12,000 sales transactions compared to 8,344 in March 2022.
The value of transactions witnessed a remarkable increase, surpassing over 34.2 billion dirhams, an increase beyond 53% compared to the same month last year. In terms of value, the transactions for existing properties witnessed an increase of over 34% YoY, reaching over 21.6 billion dirhams compared to 16.1 billion dirhams in March 2022, recording the highest volume and value for March in a decade. Furthermore, the data revealed updated figures showing a significant evolution in property preferences for both owners and tenants.
Read more: Luxury uptick continues in Dubai property market in February
According to Property Finder’s data for March 2023, 59.7% of people who desire to own property are looking for an apartment, while 40.3% are interested in villas/townhouses. In March 2023, there was an increase in the percentage of investors or home seekers looking for apartments, rising from 57.2% in March 2022 to 59.7%. Conversely, those searching for Villas/townhouses decreased by 2.5%, dropping from 42.8% to 40.3%. Among home seekers, the most commonly searched apartment size was two bedrooms, accounting for 34%, followed by one-bedroom apartments at 32%.
Additionally, in the rental segment, 79.8% of tenants search for apartments, and 20.2% look for villas/townhouses. Around 63.8% of the tenants who are looking for apartments for a longer stay prefer furnished properties, while 34.4% were searching for unfurnished apartments. Unlike the tenants who can afford to rent a villa/townhouse, approximately 52.1% were looking for unfurnished units, while 46.8% were looking for furnished villas/townhouses.
Around 33.3% of the tenants were looking for one-bedroom units in March 2023, followed by two-bedroom units, which presented 30.4% of the tenants’ preferences, while 29.4% were looking for Studios. For Villas/Townhouses, 42% of tenants were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 35.5% were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.
Off-plan transactions significantly supported Dubai’s real estate market uptrend in March, accounting for 52.8% of the total sales transactions and 36.8% of the total transaction value. The volume of off-plan property sales also surged by 95% YoY, with over 6,400 transactions recorded, compared to 3,287 in March 2022. Existing property transactions saw a YoY increase of approximately 13% in volume, with over 5,700 transactions recorded. The value of these transactions also experienced a surge of around 34% YoY, reaching around 21.6 billion dirhams, compared to 16.1 billion dirhams in March 2022.
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