In November 2023, the total number of residential transactions in Dubai stood at 9,034, down 13.2% compared to the previous year, according to the latest CBRE report. This slowdown in activity levels has been driven by a decline of 26.4% in off-plan sales from investors and buyers, whereas secondary market sales registered an increase of 5.1%.
The new data has been highlighted in the latest CBRE research report – ‘Dubai Residential Market Snapshot December 2023’.
In the rental market, the CBRE research continues to witness a moderation in the rate of growth, where in the year to November 2023, average rents in Dubai grew by 19.2%, down from 19.7% a month earlier.
Over the same period, average apartment and villa rents increased by 19.6% and 16.6%, respectively. The average annual apartment and villa rents reached AED 111,622 and AED 324,835, respectively.
The highest average annual apartment and villa rents were respectively seen in Palm Jumeirah, with average rents reaching AED 258,335, and in Al Barari, with average rents reaching AED 1,150,552.
Sales rates
The CBRE data shows that the average prices grew in Dubai by 18.9%, down from 19.1% a month earlier. Over this period, average apartment prices increased by 18.3% and average villa prices by 22.2%. As of November 2023, average apartment prices reached AED 1,374 per sq ft, and average villa prices reached AED 1,679 per sq ft.
These average apartment sales rates are still 7.7% below the record highs registered in 2014, although numerous submarkets have long surpassed their 2014 comparable figures. The average villa sales rates are currently 16.2% above the 2014 levels.
Jumeirah registered the highest sales rate per sq ft in the apartment segment of the market at AED 2,497, whilst Palm Jumeirah registered the highest sales rate per sq ft in the villa segment of the market at AED 5,217.
“The 2023 total has been bolstered by large portfolio transactions and delayed registrations in the last couple of months; however, we expect the number of transactions to continue to recede in the coming months.
“This is expected to be largely underpinned by decreasing levels of off-plan sales, understandably so with developers looking to deliver the somewhat significant quantum of recently launched projects. In turn, we expect this slowdown in transaction volume to continue to support moderation in the rate of price and rental growth.”
Taimur Khan, Head of Research
