Dubai: The total volume of transactions in Dubai’s residential market reached 7,865 in March 2022, up 83.4% from a year earlier. Over this period, off-plan sales increased by 94.6% and secondary market sales by 76.1%. Total transaction volumes in the year to date to March 2022 reached 19,009, this is the highest total ever recorded in the first quarter of the year.

Average prices increased by 11.3% in the year to March 2022. Over this period, average apartment prices increased by 10.0% and average villa prices by 20.2%. As at March 2022, average apartment prices in Dubai stood at AED 1,118 per square foot and average villa prices stood at AED 1,267 per square foot. Compared to the highs witnessed in late 2014, these rates per square foot are 26.2% and 12.3% below the peak, for apartments and villas respectively.

In the apartments segment of the market, Downtown Dubai has recorded the highest average sales rate per square foot at AED 2,021. Whereas in the villas segment of the market, Palm Jumeirah recorded the highest average sales rate per square foot at AED 2,910.

Average rents in the 12 months to March 2022 have increased by 13.1%, with average apartment and villa rents increasing by 11.7% and 22.5% respectively. As at March 2022, average apartment and villa rents stood at AED 80,000 and AED 238,441 per annum respectively.

In the rental market, the highest average annual apartment and villa rents respectively were found in Palm Jumeirah, where asking rents on average were AED 197,482, and in Al Barari, where asking rents on average were AED 801,940.

Taimur Khan, Head of Research – MENA at CBRE in Dubai, comments:

“Despite the continued increase in the cost of financing and further tightening of payment plans, we have yet to see this impact transactional activity in Dubai’s residential market. In fact, the total number of transactions in March reached 7,865, up from 5,598 a month earlier. As a result, this has been the strongest first quarter on record for Dubai in terms of residential transactions. While average prices and average rents continue to increase, we are seeing a moderation in both sales and rental growth rates in the villa segment of the market.”