According to Dubai Land Department (DLD), the total amount of real estate transactions recorded in Dubai for the year of 2016 exceeded 259 billion AED, showing signs of maturity and stability for the city’s real estate sector, slowly reaching sustainable growth. 55,928 investors from various nationalities took initiative by choosing to invest in the real estate sector of Dubai.
UAE nationals have been the leading investors for 2016, followed by GCC, Arabs, and last but not least, foreigners.
| Country of origin |
Transactions/ investors |
Value of transactions |
| GCC |
12,768 investors |
35 billion AED |
| Saudi Arabia |
3,294 transactions |
8 billion AED |
| Qatar and Kuwait |
1,776 investors |
2 billion AED |
| Oman and Bahrain |
545 investors |
1 billion AED |
| Egypt |
1,364 investors |
2.4 billion AED |
| Jordan |
1,331 investors |
2.5 billion AED |
| India |
6,263 investors |
12 billion AED |
| Pakistan |
3,372 investors |
4.4 billion AED |
| Great Britain |
3,372 investors |
5.8 billion AED |
To the list can be added other prominent investors such as Canadians, French, Iranians, Russians and Americans.
In 2016, developers launched new projects valued over 100 billion AED. Among the 60,595 real estate transactions that took place in Dubai last year, 41,776 were sales while mortgage transactions built up a value of 128 billion AED.
Investors’ favorable areas for 2016
| Business Bay |
Highest number of investments – 3,508 |
| Burj Khalifa |
Highest worth of value – 7 billion AED |
| Al Yafra 3 |
Highest number of inland sales |
| Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens |
Highest number of building sales – 699 |
| Al Thunaya 5 |
Highest number of land mortgage transactions – 352 |
Towards the end of 2016, we witnessed a small but clear upturn in buyer activity, making realtors and market experts stay positive for further momentum in 2017 and a new wave of growth while prepping for the Expo2020. 2017 is seen as a new dawn for the UAE property market which seems to be creating new appealing opportunities for potential investors who were, until now, hesitant.