DUBAI REALTY PRICES MOVES UP

Property prices here are likely to continue their upward march this year after rising in the first three months of 2013 on the back of higher demand, says a report by Asteco Property Management. Apartment sales prices grew on average by 12 per cent in the three months to the end of March 2013, with year-on-year growth standing at 27 per cent, it said. In comparison although average villa sales prices only climbed 5 per cent in Q1 2013, growth over the past 12 months averaged 24 per cent. The performance of rental rates was also impressive, average apartment and villa rents grew by 3 and 4 per cent compared to Q4 2012, but still managed to climb 19 and 21 per cent respectively over the past 12 months. "The overall outlook is positive with demand and rates expected to continue to grow. However, this will also mean that some tenants and buyers will be priced out of certain buildings or communities," said John Stevens, Managing Director, Asteco Property Management. "Prices are not only being driven by tenants relocating, Dubai is also attracting new tenants and those expatriates here are still tending to take a longer-term view of living in Dubai. "In terms of supply and demand, Dubai is still benefiting from the Arab Spring and the Euro crisis, which was brought into sharper focus recently with the Cypriot banking crisis. Good quality stock is gradually being reduced while the length of time that advertised units stay on the market now is also shortening," Stevens said. Although the commercial market saw little movement during 2012, it did show some signs of life in Q1 2013, said the report.