Dubai: More Dh100 million plus homes are being put up for sale in Dubai as their owners reckon that the super-luxury residential space is at – or near - its peak. Currently, there are about 50 such homes in Dubai listed at these price tags, with most being on the Palm.
“Of those available for sale now, about 25-30 are only through private listings,” said Mark Castley, Chief Operating Officer at LuxuryProperty.com. “There were 29 transactions of above Dh100 million last year for a combined Dh6.4 billion.”
By the looks of it, the final 2022 tally should surpass last year’s, no doubt helped by the Dh280 million transaction for a Palm mansion. There were other deals that had owners walk away with Dh100 million plus, (minus the commissions, of course).
The higher number of listings this year suggest that property owners are convinced property values at the top end of the market are at their highs. And that waiting longer could mean another seller could end up closing the deal.
“The luxury end of Dubai’s residential market was first to recover after Covid, then started shooting for the starts from March 2021 onwards, when the deal for the One100 Palm on Palm Jumeirah picked up Dh111.25 million. From then on, there was no looking back.
“But these sellers of Dh100 million homes should also time the deals – waiting too long can bring about disappointment.”
The Palm has a high number of private listings - of the Dh100 million homes there, 10 of them are completely off-market
European/Russian buyers
Since the start of the year, buyers from Europe have been quite active in the local property market, and they were joined by Russian and other CIS investors since March. A Russian, who has been a resident in Dubai for some time, bought a Dh89.1 million home at District One in MBR City, said to be the costliest deal for a mansion in that community to date.
Also, in May, there was a deal signed off for Dh128 million at Dubai Hills Grove, labelled as the ‘Street of Dreams’ for its cluster of Dh100 million plus homes.
Private viewings
According to Castley, “The Palm has a high number of private listings - of the Dh100 million homes there, 10 of them are completely off-market. This is in part due to the high-profile of the seller and also in part to give their homes an added air of exclusivity.
“Many high- and ultra-high networth investors are very private when it comes to all of their dealings, and they would much prefer to keep details about their homes out of the public eye. It is also the easiest way to shut out window-shoppers - homes of this nature are only presented to the most serious buyers.”
Apart from the Palm, Emirates Hills is seeing a few private listings, while out at Jumeira Bay island, “There are only a limited number of completed villas available and the vast majority of them listed privately,” added Castley.
Another big summer?
Summer of 2021 was quite a breakthrough for luxury home sales in Dubai. A property market on the rise and the city’s higher profile as a destination for the world’s wealthy to travel to and be in was reinforced during the period. Some of the subsequent sales of Dh100 million properties stemmed from viewings made during the summer breaks.
Will this be another hot summer for luxury home sales? Riyaz Merchant, CEO of Realty Force, is in no doubt that there would be a repeat show. “There is the Ukraine situation, and we can also see heightened Chinese buying interest,” he said. “However, I would say there aren’t that many options left for Dubai’s super-premium deals – most of these have already taken place. So, the chances are there will be more activity in the Dh50 million to Dh100 million range.”
Or developers could come in with more offplan choices, like at Jumeira Bay. Buyers are waiting...
The only question is whether there are enough Dh100 million homes in Dubai waiting to be sold. It's not about demand - it's there. The question is over availability
