Demand for Dubai’s property from European customers is rising and is expected to continue into next year as more people from Europe move to the UAE amid strong economic growth.
“The customer base has shifted today, the biggest customers are coming from Europe, no longer from Russia or Ukraine, and we believe that's going to continue, and it's going to grow further into 2025,” Ali Sajwani, managing director of Damac Properties told The National.
The slowdown in Europe’s economy, introduction of new taxes and changes to domicile and non-domicile resident rules in the UK, among other factors, are contributing to more Europeans moving to Dubai and setting up business in the emirate, Mr Sajwani said.
This trend is “driving the mid- to high-end property market (houses costing between Dh3 million to Dh8 million)”, Mr Sajwani said.
The UAE property market has been booming in recent years as more people buy property.
The government initiatives such as residency permits for retired and remote workers and the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme and overall growth in the UAE’s economy due to diversification efforts is also supporting the property market.
During the third quarter, average prices in the Dubai residential market rose close to 20 per cent year-on-year, underpinned by a 19 per cent rise in average apartment prices and a 23 per cent increase in average villa prices, according to a report from CBRE.
“Europeans remain the main source of investors for Dubai’s residential sector, with UK nationals continuing to lead the way,” Matthew Green, head of research at CBRE Mena, said.
“This steady flow of outbound capital has been supported by a regime of high property and income tax rates across much of Europe and expectations of further increases following recent announcements, combined with ongoing fears over safety across many cities and the diminishing quality of life for many residents due to the residual impact of high inflation, high interest rates and stagnation in salaries.”
In October, Britain's first female chancellor, Rachel Reeves, presented her debut budget to parliament, unveiling £40 billion in tax rises.
The UK budget plans to increase employers’ national insurance contributions and increase capital gains tax, while also making changes to inheritance tax and stamp duty. The non-domiciled status will also be abolished.
Value-added tax will be introduced on private school fees from January, while stamp duty on second homes has been increased to 5 per cent.
Dubai-based Devmark also said that British nationals were the top foreign buyers of its properties, followed by Indians and Russians, in the first half of 2024 amid continued demand.
“The primary motivations for investing in Dubai include the city's strategic location between Europe and Asia, tax free property policies, flexible payment plans, excellent rental yields and strong capital appreciation in terms of return on investment (ROI),” Sean McCauley, chief executive of Devmark, said.
Bullish forecast for property prices
Dubai property prices are projected to continue to rise amid higher demand from buyers.
“Prices will continue to grow in 2025 and well into 2026 as Dubai is much more affordable when compared to other major cities,” and offers a “much better service and a much better way of living than any of the global cities,” said Mr Sajwani.
Average property prices in Dubai soared to Dh1,473 per square foot as of October 2024. In markets like London, New York or Singapore, average prices far exceed Dh2,500 per square foot making Dubai a cheaper option to buy property, according to a recent report from Better Homes.
Lack of adequate supply in the market is also supporting the market.
“The time you launch to the handover, it's three to five years. So it takes time for the supply to come into the market. The market is currently undersupplied ,” Mr Sajwani said.
About 36,000 new homes, including villas and apartments, are expected to hit the market by the end of this year, according to a recent report from ValuStrat. New supply is expected to rise to 46,000 next year.
Mr Sajwani said Damac will continue to launch new projects to capitalise on rising demand. This year it launched about 12,000 new home units and plans to roll out similar number of new units next year.
Last month, it launched Damac Islands development at Dubailand and sold more than 3,000 units in less than 10 hours, with sales totalling Dh10 billion, according to the company.
Partnership with Trump Organisation
Damac, which built the Middle East’s only Trump-branded golf course in Dubai, is open to work with the Trump Organisation again on new projects.
“If the right opportunity present itself, we are more than happy to work with our all trusted partners, whether it is the Trump Organisation or any other partners,” Mr Sajwani said.
The Trump Organisation, owned by the president-elect Donald Trump, is teaming up with London listed Dar Global to develop new projects in Oman, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. It aims to further expand in the region with new projects, its executive vice president Eric Trump told The National last week.
Acquisition deals
Damac will also be looking at acquisition opportunities, “but they have to be at the right price, and the deal has to make sense”, Mr Sajwani, said.
“It could be in any sector. In 2020, we acquired Roberto Cavalli, which is a fashion brand. So we're sector agnostic as long as we think we can add value to the business, we can drive the business and we can grow the business.”
Mr Sajwani is also the chief executive and co-founder of Amali Properties, which launched its first project, Amali Island, worth Dh2 billion within The World Islands off the coast of Dubai earlier this year.
The project, consisting 24 villas, has been sold out except for one villa and is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027, he said.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
AL%20BOOM
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Kibsons%20Cares
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20Profile
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More coverage from the Future Forum
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
*2018 winners: Northern Warriors
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
