Dubai’s property market continues to show signs of recovery ahead of world Expo 2020, with sales volume the highest in pricey central neighborhoods around the iconic Burj Khalifa building, according to a government release on Monday.
The Dubai Land Department announced more than 52,000 real estate transactions—including mortgages and home, land and building sales— totaling AED 204 billion (US$55.54 billion) in the first nine months.
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Regionaleconomic conditions have squeezed Dubai’s real estate market in recent years, as plummeting oil prices put a strain on the purse strings of the wealthy. Since its peak in 2013-14, residential prices have been in a state of decline until bottoming out at the beginning of 2017.
Now the sector is poised to perform better than in 2016. Transaction volume last year totaled AED 259 billion (US$70.52 billion). The emirate did not release data for the first nine months of 2016.
"We expect the market to remain on this upward trajectory of sustained growth, and to see demand continuing to diversify across various real estate categories," said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director-general of the Dubai Land Department, in a news release. "The momentum of the market is being driven and sustained by several factors but particularly the upcoming launch of Expo 2020 Dubai."
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Centers of business and luxury housing drew the greatest volume of sales in the first nine months of this year, according to the Dubai Land Department.
Burj Khalifa, one of the most expensive part of the city, ranked No. 1 with 1,650 transactions totaling AED 6.239 billion (US$1.7 billion).
Business Bay, directly adjacent to Burj Khalifa in downtown, came in second with transactions totaling AED 5.6 billion (US$1.52 billion) in the first nine months.