A luxury off-plan apartment on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah island is the most expensive property to be sold so far in 2019, netting Dh74 million at sale, according to analysis of government transaction figures by UAE real estate portal Property Finder. The five-bedroom apartment was built by developer Omniyat and is now complete spanning 24,000 square feet, Property Finder said on Tuesday. The sales transaction concluded this quarter. The second most expensive property to be sold this year is a six-bedroom villa in Emirates Hills spanning 1,654 square metre, which fetched Dh64m on the secondary market, followed by a five-bedroom villa on the Fronds of the Palm Jumeirah island, which sold for Dh51m, according to figures from Dubai Land Department. “As property prices decline both in the secondary and off-plan markets, and motivated developers offer many different types of incentives, we are seeing more interest for luxury properties, especially from non-residents,” said Lynnette Abad, director of research and data at Property Finder. “In addition, we are seeing an increase in enquiries for mortgages from non-residents.” Dubai’s real estate market – like the rest of the UAE – has seen steady price declines for the past four years as rising supply and lower oil prices, which have crimped purchasing power, have had an impact on property values and demand. However, the ultra-prime market has held up relatively well in comparison – especially in the off-plan rather than secondary market – already completed and older properties – according to Property Finder’s analysis of DLD’s 2019 figures to date. The other properties that featured in the Property Finder portal’s compilation of the top five priciest sales this year were a Dh43.5m, five-bedroom off-plan apartment in the Il Primo tower in the Opera District in Downtown Dubai, and a Dh43m four-bedroom off-plan apartment at Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences on the Palm. The man-made Palm Jumeirah has long been known for its expensive real estate, and it remains the hub of most transactions in the Dh20m-or-above bracket this year, according to Property Finder. In the off-plan market, projects including The Alef Residences, XX11 Carat, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray and Bulgari Resort & Residences are fetching over Dh20m for individual unit sales. “Properties which were once considered overpriced have become more attractive as prices declined, therefore we are seeing enquiries increase in the more established, prominent and popular areas,” Ms Abad said. In the secondary market, villas on the Palm Jumeirah Fronds dominate, with the average transacted price of a Garden Homes villa this year at Dh11.18m. This is still 38 per cent lower than the average sale price of Dh17.89m in 2017, according to the portal's own data. The highest-value transaction to date this year (Omniyat’s apartment) is also below that in the full-year 2018 – a villa in Emirates Hills, which sold for Dh90m.
