Tag Archives: exclusive-dubai
Dubai property deals rise 63%
Real estate transactions touched Dh44bn in Q1. The total value of real estate transactions in Dubai rose 63 per cent to Dh44 billion in first quarter 2013 compared to same period last year, data from Dubai Land Department (DLD) reveals. The number of transactions amounted to 14,260 at a rate of 223 per day and 32 per hour with “impressive” growth registered in the residential and commercial sector. Total sales transactions reached 10,913 valued at Dh24 billion, with mortgage amounted to Dh17.8 billion. Other transactions amounted to Dh2.2 billion. Dubai Marina took the lead in terms of value of transactions, registering 2,079 transaction worth Dh3.5 billion as total value of residential transactions touching Dh13.9 billion. In 2012, total value of real estate transactions rose 8 per cent to Dh154 billion compared to Dh143 billion in 2011. UAE nationals had topped the list of investors in 2012 while Indians coming second in the list of top property buyers. Total investments by Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab and foreign investors stood at Dh58.6 billion with the total number of investors reaching 18,635, while foreign investors, numbering 13,573, invested Dh36 billion in the market. Sultan bin Mijrin, Director-General, DLD, said: “Dubai real estate market has shown durability and flexibility when it comes dealing with the requirements of investors, with the past three months showing a new breed of investors entering the market in order to capitalize on opportunities that have risen on the even of price correction witnessed in the market over the past two years.” He added: “As the market continues to unfold, investors will be encouraged to increase their spending in Dubai.” Jones Lang LaSalle, a global property consultancy, in its first quarter 2013 report, said Dubai property sales prices were about 18 per cent higher in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the year earlier period. Recently, Deutsche Bank said real estate prices and rents in Dubai rose for the 16th consecutive month in March, continuing the steady recovery in the sector. Property prices increased by 1.5 per cent from February to March with price increases recorded across most areas, with prices and rental values remaining significantly below their peak of 2008. Continue reading
UAE tops M&As in Mena
The UAE topped the region in terms of total value of disclosed domestic merger and acquisition deals, comprising approximately 54 per cent worth $2.2bn; followed by Qatar also at 21 per cent worth $880.4m. In the domestic space, the UAE also led the number of announced acquisitions with 11 deals. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait followed with seven acquisitions each, according to Ernst & Young’s MENA Mergers & Acquisitions update. The total value of disclosed mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region rose from $7.3bn in Q1 2012 to $14.6bn in Q1 2013, increasing by 100 per cent. In Q1 2013, 98 deals were announced against 101 deals in the last year, a decline of 3 per cent. Phil Gandier, Mena Head of Transaction Advisory Services at Ernst & Young Mena, said: “This increase can be attributed to growing investor confidence, improvement in the access to credit, relatively better convergence in pricing between investors and sellers and a hint of improved macro economic conditions. This is especially true of the markets and the sectors that saw the most deal activity – a trend that we expect to continue.” The top 10 deals in Q1 2013 were valued at $12.1bn which represented 83 per cent of the total disclosed Mena M&A deal value. Of these, five are outbound (regional business buying international assets), three are domestic (regional business buying regional assets) and two are inbound (international business buying regional assets). The top deal by value was worth $6.4bn, involving the acquisition of Orascom Telecom Holding in Egypt by Baskindale Limited in Cyprus followed by the merger of UAE based Sorouh Real Estate and Aldar Properties for $2bn. These two deals comprised 69 per cent of the top ten disclosed Mena M&A deals by value. In Mena, attractive sectors were banking & capital markets, and professional firms & services which led deal activity with eight deals each, followed by oil & gas with seven deals, consumer products with six deals and real estate and telecom with four deals each. The sector with the largest disclosed deal value was telecom, representing $7bn. For outbound announced deal activity, attractive sectors were telecommunications with five deals followed by real estate with four deals. Continue reading
DLD auction highlights growing demand for UAE properties
The Dubai Land Department (DLD) raised a total of AED 85.6 million (£14.9 million) by selling 11 properties at a recent private auction.A selection of 13 leasehold properties in Dubai were put up for sale and the DLD managed to find buyers for all but two of them, with the units fetching 11.7 per cent over their base price overall.The most expensive property at the auction was an apartment building in the Al Murraqabat area of eastern Dubai that went under the hammer for AED 39 million – AED 1 million above its base price.Humaid Omran Al Shamsi, manager of the DLD's public auction section, told Gulf News that the UAE Central Bank's recent approval of a new cap on mortgage loans has not dampened investor demand.”Most participants are investors, as opposed to end users. The emirati buyers all paid in cash. There is no effect from the mortgage rules, the prices speak for themselves,” he explained.Mr Al Shamsi added that property auctions have benefited from increasingly buoyant demand among investors over the last 12 months. He commented: “It's excellent. Now most of the property market is active and investor confidence is back.”Earlier this year, data supplied by the DLD revealed that a total of AED 58.6 billion was invested in the Dubai property market during 2012. The total number of investors reached 18,635, with foreign buyers numbering 13,573. Indians accounted for the biggest proportion of overseas buyers, making AED 9 billion worth of purchases over the year, while British citizens spent AED 5 billion on property in Dubai. The figures were hailed as further evidence of the growing recovery in the emirate's real estate sector, with the government having taken steps to stabilise the market and restore investor confidence.Looking for properties in Dubai? The First Group can point you in the right direction Continue reading
