Dubai Real Estate Market Price Corrections Tempting Expat Professionals

For expat professionals living and working in

, its falling property prices may present an investment opportunity.

The effects of Dubai’s slowing economy and the oversupply of new housing developments have sent the emirate’s property market into a tailspin. However, the newly-introduced visa laws for skilled workers and expat retirees wishing to stay in the city may encourage investors to take a chance. Given that the Dubai real-estate scene isn’t yet in the doldrums experienced during and after the 2008 world financial crash, the sector is now heading towards an end-user market.

Over the past five years, residential freehold property values have declined by over 10 per cent on an annual basis, with actual values now 22 per cent lower than in 2014. Price rationalisation has been aided by high numbers of completed residential properties hitting the market at a mid-affordable level, with those situated along the E311 corridor providing choice as well as comparative affordability. However, it’s the market’s high-end properties such as those on the Palm which are now seen as almost affordable, with demand seeing a notable surge this year.

As the emirate gears up for Expo20/20, investor confidence is expected to peak as some 25 million visitors arriving from 180 world countries get a face-to-face view of the emirate’s ambitions for the future. Obviously, the retail and hospitality sectors will get a huge boost, with developers hoping the boom in spending will revitalise the property market. In addition, the present price correction scenario may well encourage long-term expats as well as locals to bid for a permanent home, thus replacing rental charges with a mortgage allowing them to own their own slice of the Dubai dream.