Property News

Real estate sale transactions in Dubai jumped by 60 per cent month-on-month in June 2020 signalling patterns of a V-shaped recovery, according to developers and property experts.

Real estate portal Property Finder said the sector in Dubai has been transacting more than 570 sales transactions weekly on average over the past several weeks as the secondary market bounced back to pre-Covid levels.

“During the past three weeks the number of weekly real estate sales transactions has been consistently increasing by almost 11 … Read more ›

Some 35 years after buying my first home, and as I am about to retire as a personal finance columnist, it seems like a good time to review my best lifetime investment.

There have been a few great performers during that period in my financial portfolio: Emaar shares; a modest pension plan that turned into a decent lump sum and my own business, which I sold before the global financial crisis of 2008-09. But nothing has really topped simple residential real … Read more ›

The luxury sales and rental market in Dubai is the busiest it has been in years, say brokers, who feel that the pandemic has made high-net-worth individuals put a new emphasis on buying comfortable homes. “We are witnessing a huge shift in the market with a big uptick in activity in villa communities. There has been particularly high demand in areas like the Palm Jumeirah, which offers a perfect beach retreat, Al Barari, which affords residents large built-up areas and … Read more ›

Residents across the UAE have faced difficult financial decisions in recent months amid the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Among them is whether they could save on what is likely to be the biggest expense in their budget – rent.

But has the market shifted enough to justify the cost of moving? Rents in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been declining for the past few years on the back of lower oil prices and a property supply glut, although research showed … Read more ›

Dubai: Getting hit by the COVID-19 outbreak does not mean Abu Dhabi will have to alter its economic and growth priorities, according to a top official at the emirate’s Department of Finance.

What it has done is raise Abu Dhabi’s “commitment to future-proofing our revenue streams by prioritizing diversification while increasing returns on public investments is the right approach,” said Jassim Mohammed Buatabh Al Zaabi, Chairman.

“Our fundamentals really speak for themselves: We have a net asset position exceeding 200 per cent … Read more ›

When Fahmi received the handover notice for his villa on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island in mid-March, he faced a difficult decision: sell the property or apply for a mortgage to cover the outstanding balance.

He looked into the rate over five years for a Dh2.5 million mortgage and found it to be expensive, costing “close to Dh180,000 in interest”.

Shortly thereafter, he came across a limited-time offer from the property developer Aldar through three lenders: a 1.99 per cent rate over five … Read more ›