February Sees Dubai Off-Plan Sales Hit High

The month of February saw Dubai off-plan property sales hit the highest level since May last year.

Around 1,700 off-plan property deals were recorded in February as against May 2018’s figure of 2,006 units and just ahead of October 2018’s tally of 1,666 units, preliminary data shows. (In January, off-plan sales had totalled 1,360 units.)

Property values were also up in February with sales of Dubai off-plan property to local and overseas property investors reaching a total of Dh2.8 billion, the highest level since December 2017 according to data provided by Reidin-GCP. the real estate consultancy.

The sales were led by the big developers on Dubai, with Emaar alone accounting for more than 60 per cent of the off-plan units sold in February.

Other developers are now expected to follow suit, encouraged by the sales success of Dubai off-plan property.

Sameer Lakhani, Managing Director at Global Capital Partners, commented: ‘The off-plan sales spike in February have been fuelled by generous payment options now offered by all the major developers. Others are likely to join the bandwagon in offering extended payment plans in coming months. This strategy has clearly been successful in re-igniting demand across the board.’

Dubai off-plan sales were expected to be slow throughout 2019, until mid-January saw launches by Emaar and Meraas that were met by sizeable demand.

If developers across the city can pull off February’s showing this month as well, it would allay some of the concerns about too much supply chasing too few buyers. For the moment, buyers are definitely there for Dubai off-plan properties at the right price and payment plan, and more so if it is coming from a developer with a track record to show off.

New locations fared well for Dubai off-plan property in February, with Dubai Hills Estate the most popular spot for investors for the second month running in 2019, accounting for 508 transactions. In second place was Downtown, with 322 units, followed by Dubai Creek Harbour with 257 units.