Khaleej Times, Thursday, Feb 23, 2023 | Sha'ban 03, 1444
Over half of Dubai property owners would sell their units this year, YouGov study shows
Emirates:
Almost two-thirds of Dubai property owners polled (64 per cent) plan to sell
their respective unit to take advantage of current market conditions and 52 per
cent would do so in the next 12 months in return for a good premium according to
a YouGov survey commissioned by Metropolitan Homes, a new division of the
Metropolitan Group focusing on Dubai's secondary market and catering to
end-users, investors and wealthy asset owners.
According to the same survey, which polled 300 UAE property owners during the
first half of January, 90 per cent of Dubai property owners would purchase
another property in the emirate if they sold their existing one at a good
premium. A further 83 per cent said they made significant improvements since
they bought their property with 15 per cent of respondents spending over
Dh500,000 to renovate their property.
Alina Adamco, head of sales, Metropolitan Homes, said: "The YouGov survey
results are further indication that UAE homeowners are confident in Dubai as an
established property market and that the level of planned activity in the
secondary market will continue to fuel transaction volumes in the Emirate's real
estate sector. The survey also found 22 per cent of the survey participants in
the 45+ age group plan to retire and live in the UAE permanently.
"Buyers looking to invest in Dubai's secondary market this year, will benefit
from the projected increase in the number of current property owners who plan to
sell their units. This in turn could help sustain a long-term growth spurt for
Dubai's realty sector, backed by favourable market conditions, strong UAE
economy fundamentals, the city's reputation and appeal as a safe and secure
investment destination and recent legislation reforms," she added.
Such reforms include the UAE Golden Visa regulations, residency permits for
retirees and the digital nomad trend, all of which work together to attract more
investment into real estate in Dubai, as they provide residents with a strong
reason to invest in the country and allow non-residents to make the UAE their
second home.
Furthermore, future owners of Dubai residential property can make the most out
of their investment, as it is estimated that the city's population will rise
from today's 3.5 million to 5.8 million by 2040, according to industry reports.
"The current and projected market conditions are in favour of owners of Dubai
residential properties if they are thinking to sell or rent their units as
demand for ready property outperforms supply, especially in sought-after
locations," said Nikita Kuznetsov, partner at Metropolitan Group and CEO of
Metropolitan Premium Properties. "Last year, our secondary market transactions
increased by 300 per cent, so we expect that this trend will continue in the
foreseeable future."
Other highlights of the Metropolitan Homes - YouGov survey include:
• 81 per cent of respondents own one or two properties
• 89 per cent of the respondents bought their property in the last five years
• 65 per cent said they are currently living in the property they purchased
• 61 per cent said that are looking to upgrade their property after selling
their current property
In addition to Metropolitan Homes, the Metropolitan Group in the UAE includes
full-service real estate agencies Metropolitan
Premium Properties (Dubai) and Metropolitan
Capital Real Estate LLC (Abu Dhabi). The Group also includes Luxury
Immobilien GmbH, a real estate agency in Vienna and Metropolitan
Consulting FZE, providing personal and business legal services in the
UAE.