Why Dubai’s real estate sector is full of buying signals

Joanne Phillips, general manager of the mortgage division at Holborn Assets, says now is a great time to buy in Dubai. But she warns: “It’s a very difficult market to predict. People have been saying we’ve bottomed out for the last six months, but honestly we still don’t know where the bottom is. There has been a lot of off-plan activity that has perhaps given an impression of a booming market, but that has been driven by aggressive pricing, good payment plans and so on.”

As an example, if you take somewhere like the Springs, a standard two-bed villa is around AED1.6m – down from AED2.1m, AED2.2m two years ago. In terms of rent, luxury areas like Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai have seen double-digit percent declines.

However, all the above means there are some great deals to be had as sellers and developers are having to be more flexible. According to Phillips, “We think this will be the case for the rest of the year at least. If you’re thinking of buying, and think you’ll be here for another five or six years, then now is the time do it – the market has never been more accessible.”

In this edition of Inside AB, Jeremy Lawrence and Eddie Taylor look at the conclusions she draws and ask what this means for investors and renters alike.

Website: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/

Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArabianBusiness
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArabianBusiness
Follow us on Google+: https://plus.google.com/+arabianbusiness
Follow Us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arabianbusiness/
Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://ae.linkedin.com/company/arabian-business

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for Business News and Events in the Middle East Region: https://www.youtube.com/user/arabianbusiness/featured?sub_confirmation=1