Real estate transactions in Dubai in 2020 increased to 35,400 with a value of AED 72.47 billion after Dubai Land Department (DLD) recorded a total of 3,751 transactions worth AED 7.50 billion in December 2020, based on the 10^th edition of Mo’asher, Dubai’s official sales price index launched by DLD in cooperation with Property Finder.

The base year for Mo’asher is 2012, and the base month for the monthly index is January 2012, with the base quarter for the quarterly index being Q1 2012.

Latifa Ibrahim Ahmed, Director of the Real Estate Studies & Research Department at DLD, commented: “This data confirms the strength of the real estate sector in particular and the macroeconomics of Dubai and the UAE in general. This has strengthened investor confidence and contributed to the effective return of activity to the sector, specifically over the past three months, thanks to the directives of the wise leadership and the successful strategy to recover from COVID-19 that allowed the UAE to lead globally in the gradual return of the economy, reaching a complete re-opening of various sectors. These numbers will be a launchpad for the market in 2021, and we are certain that it will gain more momentum due to the gradual opening of global markets and the approach of Expo 2020 Dubai, the globally-awaited event.”

Overview

The last few months in 2020 have been record-breaking for the secondary/ready market, with November and December both breaking the secondary/ready market sales transactions records for the past seven years. December 2020 had 2,579secondary/ready transactions worth AED 6.22 billion, 9.7% more than November 2020, which was already a record-breaking month for the secondary/ready market.

Dubai real estate market’s performance, due to the proactive measures taken and initiatives set by the Dubai Government, is now back to pre-COVID sales transactions records. It was a tumultuous year globally, but Dubai managed to keep things under control and keep the real estate market alive through innovative initiatives.

To date, we have been headed towards a V-shaped recovery, and when we look at the numbers, from the lowest numbers we had in May (1,452 transactions), the market had recovered by almost 270%.

April and May 2020 were the most affected months in terms of secondary sales due to the lockdown in Dubai. Since the ease in restrictions, secondary residential real estate sales have been on a rise, peaking in November 2020 with 2,179 sales transactions and in December with 2,579 sales transactions, representing the highest in six years and nine months.

Despite the drawbacks on the market in the lockdown, including restricted movement and market conditions, 2020 as a year performed better than expected in terms of numbers. A total 35,400 transactions took place in 2020 worth AED 72.47 billion. 14,356 of these were for off-plan properties, and 21,044 were for secondary/ready properties, worth AED 19.81 billion and 52.66 billion respectively.

Q4 2020 was the strongest quarter in 2020 and helped the year recover most in terms of volume and value through 11,064 sales transactions worth AED 22.07 billion.

Looking at overall mortgages for 2020, a total 12,958 transactions were registered worth AED 87.20 billion. Almost 100% of these were for secondary/ready property. This increased shift in ready property is something we have seen throughout the year as residents are now opting to buy a place to live in rather than rent.

Lynnette Abad, Director of Research & Data at Property Finder, said: “2020 was interesting, to say the least. When it comes to residential real estate, we at Property Finder predicted pent-up demand from the outset; we knew this was something that was going to impact the market. There was a significant rebound in the real estate market after restrictions eased, and people wanted to improve their home lifestyle. With attractive housing prices and the lowest mortgage rates we have ever seen, it was inevitable.”

The overall monthly index recorded 1.075, with an index price of AED 1,013,973. The overall quarterly index recorded 1.117 with an index price of AED 1,035,742, and the overall yearly index recorded 1.15 with an index price of AED 1,083,413.

The apartments monthly index recorded 1.124 with an index price of AED 953,616. The apartments quarterly index recorded 1.17 with an index price of AED 980,657, while the apartments yearly index recorded 1.186 with an index price of AED 1,031,311.

The Villas/Townhouses monthly Index recorded 1 with an index price of AED 1,691,696. The Villas/Townhouses quarterly index recorded 1.005 with an index price of AED 1,699,992, and the Villas/Townhouses yearly index recorded 1.077 with an index price of AED 1,729,468.