Dubai recorded 1,824 property sales transactions worth more than Dh3.62 billion in April amid lockdown measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, according to Property Finder.
Off-plan property sales dominated last month's transactions, accounting for 70 per cent of all activity, primarily in the communities of Villanova villas or townhouses and Dubai Creek Harbour for apartments, according to a new report by Data Finder, the data platform of Property Finder.
Top off-plan sales locations were The Lagoons in Dubai Creek Harbour with 123 transactions, Jumeirah Village Circle with 112, Villanova with 110, Umm Suqeim at 105 and Business Bay at 97 transactions.
The year-to-date total reached 12,254 sales transactions in Dubai worth Dh24.15bn.
The volume of transactions for the secondary market were "considerably lower" than the off-plan market, according to the report. However Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah remained in dominant positions. These were followed by Mudon, Downtown Dubai and Dubai Hills Estate.
The top communities for apartment sales were Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Creek Harbour, Umm Suqeim, Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Beach Residence.
The top five communities for villa and townhouse sales were Villanova, Serena, Dubai South, Jumeirah and Arabian Ranches.
Consumers' top property searches were focused on Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah with both areas accounting for 21 per cent of all searches in April.
"Since the beginning of March and when the Covid-19 crisis started, the percentage of searches on the Property Finder portal for villas/townhouses is higher than for apartments. This trend continues to grow even after the lockdown has eased," Lynnette Abad, director of research and data at the company, said.
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Where Dubai rents have risen and fallen, Q1 2020
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Compared to the previous weeks, sales enquiries submitted to agents for villas in Dubai rose 30 per cent compared to the same week last year, she said.
Rental leads for villas in Dubai are also up for the second week in a row, a 56 per cent increase compared to the same week last year," Ms Abad added.
Dubai's real estate market has softened due to concerns about an oversupply of properties and drop in oil prices that began in 2014. The property market could bounce back strongly in 2021 on the back of increased economic activity related to Expo 2020, according to Hussain Sajwani, the chairman of Damac, the UAE's third-biggest listed developer.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Mr Sajwani said new property launches in Dubai, the commercial and trading hub of the Middle East, could come to a halt this year as the Covid-19 pandemic squeezes demand.
