Sales of prime villas on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah fall 44 per cent

Despite falling transaction levels, property broker Core reported that sales prices per square foot for villas on the Palm remained relatively steady.

Transactions have fallen on Palm Jumeirah during the first half of 2016, according to Core. Antonie Robertson / The National
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The number of the most expensive villas sold on Dubai’s prestigious Palm Jumeirah fell by nearly half in the first six months of this year compared with a year earlier as sellers shied away from marketing property in a falling market.

According to the property broker Core, an associate of Savills, transaction numbers for villas worth more than Dh10 million fell by 44 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.

It said that although super prime villas on the man-made island were the worst affected, transaction activity levels for all Palm Jumeirah villas fell by about 25 per cent over the period.

Transaction levels were also down by 25 per cent in Dubai Marina and by 19 per cent in Downtown Dubai for apartments worth more than Dh10m, while transactions of apartments worth more than Dh4m fell by 43 per cent in Dubai Marina and 36 per cent in Downtown.

Despite the falling transaction levels, Core reported that sale prices per square foot for villas on the Palm remained relatively steady, down just 4 per cent over the period. Rents fell by 7 per cent over the period.

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“With a total stock of approximately 1,700 villas, an estimated 150 to 200 villas are currently available for sale on Palm Jumeirah. More units are anticipated to be held by investors as many are not pressed financially to sell in this bottoming market, while a few others look towards commanding premiums by refurbishing existing units and attracting buyers who are seeking contemporary products,” said David Godchaux, Core’s chief executive.

“A strong recovery in prices is not anticipated in the near term as we expect this underlying stock to keep the sales prices static even if the demand revives in the coming quarters.”

Overall, the report reveals prime residential prices in Dubai are 60 per cent below prime New York, 75 per cent below prime London and 85 per cent below prime Hong Kong.

Core, which uses its own data as well as that of Reidin, compared data from the six months to June 19 compared with the first six months of last year.

lbarnard@thenational.ae

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