Property Finder, the leading property portal in the MENA region, has revealed key trends shaping Dubai’s booming property market in August 2023. According to the latest data, the month saw 11,818 real estate transactions, recording a 25% increase in volume compared to 9,450 in August 2022.
The value of the transactions witnessed a sharp hike of 43% compared to the same month last year, reaching AED 33.7 billion. This marks by far the highest transaction volume and value for the month of August in a decade. The market broadly followed the previous month’s trends in property preferences for owners and tenants alike.
Cherif Sleiman, Chief Revenue Officer at Property Finder, said, “In August 2023, Dubai’s property sector continued the steep YOY growth trajectory. We were pleased to see the sustained momentum in growing investor appetite, with the market remaining robust over the holiday months and the off-plan segment witnessing an unprecedented surge. As home search enablers, we look forward to giving home seekers the best of verified listings - all in one place with advanced tools and features to support their home search journey.”
According to Property Finder’s data for August 2023, 59% of property buyers were looking for an apartment, while 41% were interested in villas/townhouses. For tenants, 81% were looking for apartments, while 19% were found to be interested in villas. The most commonly searched apartment size for purchase was two-bedroom, accounting for 34%, closely followed by one-bedroom apartments at 33%.
Around 63.9% of those seeking apartments favored furnished properties, while 34.5% were searching for unfurnished options. Among the tenants who can afford to rent a villa or townhouse, 54% preferred unfurnished units, while 45% favored furnished options.
Approximately 36% of tenants were looking for one-bedroom units last month, while 31% expressed a preference for two-bedroom apartments, and 21% were searching for studios. Among villas/townhouses, three-bedroom units enjoyed the highest popularity at 43%, while 35% of tenants were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.
The off-plan segment played an even bigger role in driving the uptick in Dubai’s real estate market last month, jumping to 58% of the total number of sales transactions and 50% of total transaction value. The volume of off-plan property sales rose by 63% YoY, with 6,837 transactions recorded, compared to 4,189 in August 2022. This increase was reflected in the value of off-plan properties, which surged by almost 103% to AED 17 billion, vastly surpassing the AED 8.261 billion recorded in August 2022.
Ten areas contributed to almost 65.3% of the total sales value and 53% of the total number of transactions in the off-plan market. These included perennial favorites Business Bay, Dubai Harbour, Dubai Creek Harbour, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, and Jumeirah Village Circle, as well as newcomers Sobha Heartland, Al Yufrah 1, Arjan, Jumeirah Village Triangle, and Madinat Al Mataar.
The existing property segment in August experienced another YoY rise in value and experienced a notable growth at around 11% YoY, reaching AED 16.9 billion, compared to AED 15.3 billion in August 2022. Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa, Emirates Living, Dubai Marina, Al Hebiah Fifth, Palm Deira, Arjan, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Dubai Hills contributed to more than 40% of the sales value and 34% of the volume.
According to Property Finder’s proprietary data, the list of top areas searched to own apartments in August 2023 remained unchanged for the past couple of months and includes Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah.
Similarly, Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Arabian Ranches, DAMAC Hills (Akoya by DAMAC), and Al Furjan retained their place among the most desired areas for those looking to own villas/townhouses.
