According to a market summary of the year’s first quarter by property consultant JLL, approximately 10,000 units were completed in Dubai Q1 2024, increasing the total stock to 729,000.
Over the coming nine months, an additional 25,000 units are scheduled for delivery in the emirate, primarily consisting of apartments in prominent areas such as MBR City, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village, and Dubai Land.
JLL said 1,600 units were delivered in Abu Dhabi, and 6,000 units are expected to be added by the end of the year.
In Dubai, both sales and rentals saw an annual increase of around 21%. Apartment rentals grew 22 percent annually, outpacing villa rentals, which grew 14 percent compared to the previous year.
According to Faraz Ahmed, Research Director at JLL MENA, the residential sector continued to demonstrate strong growth during the first quarter.
“Dubai’s residential sales transactions recorded a 20% increase in volume compared to last year, whereas Abu Dhabi witnessed a 17% increase, with more apartment transactions than villas and townhouses. However, escalating land prices and construction costs are compelling developers to shift their focus towards secondary locations and targeting properties within the $544,000 (AED2 million) price range, enabling buyers to meet the threshold for the Golden Visa eligibility,” Ahmed said.
Other sectors
In Q1, 2,000 keys were added to Dubai’s hotel room stock, bringing the total to 155,000. New hotel openings include 5-star Za’abeel, Business Bay, and Port Saeed properties.
Retail real estate stock remained unchanged in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but 120,000 square meters of new retail space is expected to be delivered before 2025. Community malls and concepts are primarily driving the sector.
Requests for industrial real estate were strong in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to JLL. They profited from solid growth in the non-oil sector and the expanding e-commerce market. Rental charges across major submarkets encountered a notable increase in the industrial sector, with increasing spillover demand from Dubai forced by the limited availability of vacant Grade A spaces in the latest city.
Meanwhile, both Emirates’ office space market rental rates surged in Q1 2024.
