Revealed: how far UAE property prices have fallen so far in 2019

Dubai apartment sale prices in the first half of 2019 are 3.9 percent cheaper than six months ago, according to new data.

The Property Finder Trends report showed that apartments for sale fared worse than rentals, with low to mid-single-digit percentage drops right across the country.

For Dubai apartments, the median advertised price is AED1,163 per square foot, while Ras Al Khaimah apartments for sale had the biggest decline in prices in H1, dropping 6.2 percent to an advertised median price of AED560 per square foot, half the price in Abu Dhabi which dropped 4.4 percent to AED1,120.

Ajman, with a median square foot advertised price of just AED269, is still by far the cheapest in the UAE, the report showed, as prices in the emirate dropped 3.9 percent in H1.

Sharjah apartments held their value best in H1 as they have done for the last couple of years. They declined by 1.5 percent during this half-year to a median advertised price of AED475 per square foot.

Apartment communities in Dubai that witnessed the biggest sales price drop in H1 were Al Sufouh (-10.5 percent), Remraam (-9.6 percent), Downtown Dubai (-7.4 percent), Old Town (-7.2 percent) and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (-6.5 percent). Mirdif, Jumeirah Village Triangle, Dubai South, Arjan and Al Furjan stayed resilient and resisted the price drop, the report added.

Villa prices in Dubai dropped 4.3 percent to an advertised median price of AED 855 per square foot compared to the second half of 2018.

Ajman’s villa prices were flat, dropping just 0.6 percent compared to H2 2018 while Sharjah dropped 1.6 percent and Ras Al Khaimah experienced a drop of 5.9 percent.

Abu Dhabi bucked the national downward trend, with a 1.5 percent increase to a median villa advertised price of AED827 per square foot.

Villa communities in Dubai that experienced the biggest decline in sales prices in H1 were Damac Hills (-8.2 percent), Emirates Hills (-6.6 percent), Green Community Motor City (-5.4 percent), Dubai Silicon Oasis (-5.2 percent), Al Furjan and The Villa (-5.1 percent).

Communities like Living Legends, District One in Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Mirdif, Green Community DIP and Palm Jumeirah Signature Villas recorded zero or a very marginal drop in villa sales prices.

“As new affordable villa communities are getting completed and handed over, we have seen a migration to these communities from popular areas such as Dubai Marina. Families are choosing to live a little further out in the suburban areas of Dubai in order to gain access to a larger property with outside space. We have also seen a large influx of renters converting to home buyers, especially in these new villa communities,” said Lynnette Abad, director of Data & Research, Property Finder.

Although overall sales transactions in Dubai remained steady and in line with 2018, the type of properties being purchased is changing as apartment transactions were down by 5 percent but villa sales were up by 35 percent.

Downtown Dubai saw the most apartment sales in H1 at 1,586, of which 1,288 were off-plan transactions while Dubai South with 434 sales (all off-plan) had by far the most villa/townhouse transactions.