Dubai luxury property sales continue record-setting streak
Sales of homes priced above $10 million surged to $2.6 billion between April and June, according to researcher Knight Frank. The figure marks a 37 percent increase from the first quarter and a 63 percent rise compared to the same period last year.
A total of 143 transactions were recorded in the quarter, up 52 percent year-over-year, including 22 sales above the $25 million mark.
The market's strength came despite the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which eventually drew in the US.
Fears of escalation briefly brought Dubai's property market to a near standstill, brokers told Bloomberg News.
The quarter was also marked by sweeping tariffs announced by President Donald Trump that rattled global markets.
On average, prices across 10 luxury neighborhoods rose 18 percent from a year ago but remained nearly unchanged from the first quarter. 'This indicates that rising sales volumes and healthy market activity, as opposed to cost inflation, underlie the growth in total sales value,' the report said.
In the $10 million-and-above category, apartment sales outpaced villas for the first time since the second quarter of 2023. A total of 80 apartments were sold, compared to 63 villas or single-family homes.
Demand for Dubai property has boomed since 2020, driven by the government's handling of the pandemic and liberal visa policies that attracted foreign buyers. The luxury end of the emirate's real estate market — including waterfront villas on the city's artificial palm-shaped islands — has benefited from an influx of wealthy expatriates.
To be sure, analysts have started to warn that city-wide property prices face multiple risks after rising by about 70 percent over the past four years. Fitch Ratings, for one, forecasts a 'moderate correction' in late 2025 into 2026, citing a wave of new supply.
That said, the share of homes resold within 12 months of purchase fell to around 5 percent in the second quarter, down from as high as 25 percent in 2008, according to Knight Frank. The shift underscores a change in the buyer mix, with most investors now holding on to properties rather than flipping them.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump announces 30 percent tariffs on EU and Mexico
President Donald Trump on Saturday imposed a 30 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on August 1 after weeks of negotiations with the key trading allies failed to reach a more comprehensive trade deal. The fresh tariffs were announced in separate letters posted on Truth Social on Saturday. Earlier this week, Trump issued new tariff announcements for a number of countries, including Japan, South Korea, Canada and Brazil, as well as a 50 percent tariff on copper. The EU had hoped to reach a comprehensive trade agreement with the US for the 27-country bloc. The European Union had been bracing for the letter from Trump outlining his planned duties on the United States' largest trade and investment partner after a broadening of his tariff war in recent days. The EU initially hoped to strike a comprehensive trade agreement, including zero-for-zero tariffs on industrial goods, but months of difficult talks have led to the realization it will probably have to settle for an interim agreement and hope something better can still be negotiated. The 27-country bloc is under conflicting pressures as powerhouse Germany urged a quick deal to safeguard its industry, while other EU members, such as France, have said EU negotiators should not cave into a one-sided deal on US terms. Trump's cascade of tariff orders since returning to the White House has begun generating tens of billions of dollars a month in new revenue for the US government. US customs duties revenue shot past $100 billion in the federal fiscal year through to June, according to US Treasury data on Friday.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump says Mexico, EU to face 30% tariff from August 1
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on key US trading partners Mexico and the European Union, ramping up pressure for deals in his trade sets of duties would take effect August 1, Trump said in separate letters posted to his Truth Social platform, citing Mexico's role in illicit drugs flowing into the United States and a trade imbalance with the EU respectively.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
White House Escalates Pressure Campaign on Federal Reserve by Targeting Its Headquarters Renovation
The White House is trying to turn the Federal Reserve into a poster child for wasteful spending, criticizing an expensive renovation at the central bank's headquarters as President Donald Trump pursues an extraordinary pressure campaign to lower interest rates. The latest step came Thursday when Russ Vought, Trump's top budget adviser, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying the president is 'extremely troubled' that plans may have violated government building rules with an 'ostentatious overhaul." Trump also named two close aides — James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, and Will Scharf, the staff secretary who furnishes the president with executive orders for his signature — to the National Capital Planning Commission, an obscure panel that could provide another avenue to increase scrutiny. Blair said he would be 'requesting a review of all previous and current building plans' and suggested that Powell wasn't honest while testifying to Congress about the renovations last month. If Powell isn't truthful, Blair wrote on social media, 'how else is the American Public to maintain confidence that its monetary policy manager is acting in their interests?' Taken together, the latest steps amount to an escalating effort to dislodge Powell from his position as chairman before his term ends next May. It's an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Federal Reserve's traditional role as an autonomous arbiter of US monetary policy. If successful, Trump will have expanded his influence to yet another corner of American government that was once seen as beyond the reach of political pressure, but he will have also jeopardized the independence that has made the central bank a foundational player in the US economy. On Wednesday, Trump said Powell 'should resign immediately' so 'we should get somebody in there that's going to lower interest rates.' He suggested that he'd rather have Scott Bessent, his Treasury secretary, as a replacement. Powell has resisted Trump's pressure, largely out of concern that Trump's tariff plans could increase costs for American consumers. If rates are lowered too aggressively, it could lead to a resurgence of inflation. But Trump insists that inflation is no longer a problem, and a rate cut would help make mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt cheaper. Trump has also said it would allow the US government to finance its debt more cheaply, a pressing concern as legislation signed by the president is poised to increase the federal deficit by extending tax cuts. 'LOWER THE RATE!!!' Trump wrote on social media on Thursday as he continued a near-daily drumbeat of criticism. However, there's no guarantee that financial markets will reduce rates on government debt even if the Fed bows to Trump's wishes. Such a situation could lead to higher interest costs for consumers — a reminder of how monetary missteps may backfire. Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama, then made chairman by Trump during his first term. But in his second term, Trump turned Powell — who has sought to avoid politics and refrains from responding directly to the president— into one of his primary antagonists. Trump has said that he wouldn't directly oust Powell — 'I don't know why it would be so bad, but I'm not going to fire him,' he said last month. The Supreme Court said in May that it could block such a step. However, Trump's allies have found other ways to make Powell uncomfortable. Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, also accused Powell of lying to Congress about the renovations. 'I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed 'for cause,'' he said last week. Pulte said the situation 'stinks to high heaven.' Vought, in his own letter, said the called the initial renovation plans featuring rooftop terrace gardens, VIP dining rooms and premium marble an 'ostentatious overhaul.' Vought also suggested that Powell misled Congress by saying the headquarters had never had a serious renovation, saying that an update to its roof and building systems that was completed in 2003 counts as a 'comprehensive' renovation. Fed officials did not respond to an email seeking a response to the letter. Powell said in Senate testimony last month that some of the elements in the 2021 plan such as the dining rooms and rooftop terraces are no longer part of the project for the 90-year-old Marriner S. Eccles Building. The debate over the renovation could set up a legal battle between the White House and the Fed, which under the law is allowed to use its own judgment to establish 'suitable' and 'adequate' quarters for its operations. Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola-Marymount University, said 'it's good that the central bank budget is coming under review and scrutiny.' However, he warned against using such issues to challenge the Fed's independence. If that's compromised, he said, it's 'bad for the economy, that's bad for inflation expectations and therefore long term inflation.'
