Why Dubai residents are buying property to save money
Despite higher sales prices and interest rate rises, some tenants are choosing to become homeowners to avoid rental increases, experts say
“I rented the property for six months with an option to buy it at a fixed price,” he says.
“I was expecting rent increases when we relocated to the UAE due to Expo Dubai 2020 and the Fifa World Cup in Qatar. Hence, we found an agreement to have a fixed price for the option to buy. Furthermore, we don’t want to relocate any more since it is one of the most stressful activities.”
Property prices across Dubai, particularly in the prime sector, surged last year as the market and wider economy bounced back from the coronavirus-induced slowdown.
The value of property transactions jumped 76.5 per cent annually to a new high of Dh528 billion last year, while the number of transactions rose 44.7 per cent annually to 122,658.
With record transaction volumes and unprecedented gains across all performance indicators over 2022, it is interesting to see Dubai’s continued resilience against the backdrop of intensifying global recession concerns and rising interest rates, property consultancy Core says in its 2022-2023 annual report.
“While Dubai isn’t immune to these conditions, it has greatly pivoted itself into a preferred gateway city due to the government’s robust response to the pandemic, pioneering policies, thus attracting and retaining investment and talent,” it says.
Changes to visa rules have made it easier for foreigners to settle in the UAE while ultra-high-net-worth individuals have flocked to Emirates on the back of the country’s positive handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
