Palm Jumeirah, what locals call simply the Palm, is Dubai’s paradise-like playground for the world’s wealthiest people who want to get away from all it yet have the best of it all.
As its name implies, the whimsical man-made island is shaped like a date palm, complete with a trunk, a crescent and 17 fronds. It’s part of a larger development, the Palm Islands, that, when completed, will expand the emirate’s shoreline by more than 300 miles. It connects to the mainland via a monorail, reportedly the first in the Middle East.
“It helped put Dubai on the map,” said Michelle Liddiard, associate director of Luxhabitat Sotheby’s Realty. “It’s the perfect place to live, offering kilometers of beautiful shorelines and stunning views of the Arabian Sea as well as the Dubai skyline.”
According to Riccardo Scala, director of the private client office of LuxuryProperty.com, “If you want the very best of beachfront living in complete comfort, the only place to live is the Palm.”
Mario Volpi, sales and leasing manager for Engel & Völkers Dubai, said that Palm Jumeirah more than lives up to its reputation as “the eighth wonder of the world.”
Jutting three miles into the Arabian Gulf, Palm Jumeirah is bounded on the southwest by King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street, which feeds in from Sheikh Zayed Road and other key roads nearby. On the other three sides, it is bounded by the Arabian Gulf.
Prices depend on the age of the home, location on the Palm and whether or when it has been renovated or upgraded, Scala said.Standard Garden Homes, the least costly, typically are priced at AED 16.5 million to AED 19.5 million (US$4.49 million to US$5.31 million); upgraded versions with modern conveniences generally list for AED 22 million to AED 33.5 million.
The next level, Signature Villas, start at around AED 35 million, with upgraded examples selling for AED 75 million to AED 85 million.
Custom villas, which are located on the fronds and are considered the most desirable, carry higher prices.Custom Garden Homes command AED 25 million to over AED 50 million. Custom Signature Villas, which Scala said are the most expensive not only on the Palm but also in the city, generally start at AED 65 million. They top out at AED 110 million to AED 150 million. Condo prices, he added, range from AED 19 million to over AED 100 million.
In the last 12 months, Liddiard said, sales prices have been record-breaking. She noted that in June 2021, a 12,140-square-foot condo villa in the XXII Carat development in the crescent of the Palm sold for AED 119.5 million, surpassing the AED 111.25 sale of a 15,000-square-foot residence on Frond N in February 2021.
Liddiard said that the limited supply of frond properties and their private beach access will continue to drive prices upward. She noted that from the third quarter of 2020 through March 2022, the average sales price in Dubai shot up 30% to around AED 1,300 per square foot. And, she added, sales volume so far in 2022 has increased 27.4% on secondary sales totaling 61,304 transactions.
She attributed the rising statistics in part to the pandemic, which brought more visitors to Dubai. “Many people decided to live here permanently,” she said. “Recently, we had a surge of European clients. The market was saturated with investors before. Now, the market is full of end-user families settling down and setting up companies.” She’s optimistic about the future because, “if we compare Dubai prices to international cities worldwide, properties are still undervalued.”
