Year in review: Dubai real estate | Middle East News | AMEinfo.com

Momentum in the market had been slowly building at the tail end of last year, and by the spring of 2012, a number of property analysts began to report that prices had reached the bottom in certain parts of Dubai.

The turnaround was boosted in part by investors from the Middle East and South Asia looking for a safe haven to park their money. The market was given a further shot in the arm by developers Emaar Properties and Nakheel who launched several off-plan projects, some of which were sold out in a matter of days.

Following is a timeline of some of the major Dubai real estate stories in 2012:

February

? Real estate firm Cluttons said Dubai's residential property market was "still plagued by oversupply" but was seeing "selective stabilisation", with growing demand for homes in some parts of the city. "In some premium locations with only a fixed number of properties on the market, Cluttons is already seeing prices increase as a result of a strong interest in potential buyers," it said. The market was "now more secure and transparent", with residential sales continuing to build on "a positive start to 2012", it added.

March

? Emaar launched the sale of 18 luxury villas in its Arabian Ranches development. Golf Homes, which Emaar priced between Dhs7.3m and Dhs11m, are each set in a plot of land 17,000-27,000 sq ft.

April

? Nakheel launched Palma Residences, its first residential project since 2008. The development consists of 104 Mediterranean style townhouses on Palm Jumeirah, with prices ranging from Dhs6m to Dhs8m.
? A report by Jones Lang Lasalle said residential property prices in Dubai had bottomed out, reaching prices not seen since early 2008. While villa sales increased three percent in the first quarter of 2012, they still lagged 25% behind the peak that was achieved in the third quarter of 2008, JLL said.

May

? CBRE said Dubai's villa market experienced positive rental rate growth in the first quarter for the first time since 2008/2009.
? Nakheel launched sales of 500 sq ft studio apartments on the Palm Jumeirah aimed at the 'young and trendy population of Dubai'. The Palm Views East and West project features 192 pied-?-terre style studios priced at Dhs1m ($272,250).
? Guinness World Records officially recognised Tameer's Princess Tower as the world's tallest residential building. The developer said the 107-storey Dubai Marina skyscraper rises above the skyline at 414m from base to tip.
? Emaar announced that all 224 unit of its 'Panorama at The Views' project in the Greens were sold out in one day. "The sell-out response to Panorama at The Views is a clear testament to investor confidence in Emaar's project delivery credentials and the positive growth being recorded by Dubai's property sector this year," said Ahmad Al Matrooshi, managing director of Emaar Properties.

August

? Dubai's Land Department said Indians were the top buyers of luxury apartments and commercial space in the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, with $222m worth of investments, followed by Iranians with $128m.
? Nakheel said it sold a plot of land on Palm Jumeirah for $109m. The sale of the 305,704 sq ft plot showed there were "clear signs of renewed investor confidence in Dubai real estate and in particular for unique products such as those offered on Palm Jumeirah," the developer said.
? Dubai's Land Department said a total of Dhs22bn ($5.98bn) was plowed into Dubai's real estate market by foreign investors in the first half of the year.

Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/dubai-property-review-2012-investors-flock-323316

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