meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Ownership drive spurs Dubai property market

31 July 2023

 

The UAE’s real estate market has continued to evolve quickly this year. Dubai-based real estate portal Property Finder is at the forefront of these changes, and this year has experienced a leap in sales transactions from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

There has been a 34.1 per cent surge in UAE real estate transactions, which totalled AED30.41bn ($8.3bn) in June, coupled with a 17.78 per cent rise in transaction volume, fuelled mainly by a 46.6 per cent year-on-year upswing in off-plan property deals. This growth came despite a marginal 1.3 per cent dip in existing property sales.

“The UAE’s robust strategy has begun to yield fruit,” says Scott Bond, Property Finder’s UAE country manager (pictured). 

According to Bond, two primary changes are visible in the market. Firstly, there has been a notable increase in people preferring property ownership over rentals.

“Traditionally, the UAE has had a rental-heavy market, but there’s a clear shift towards establishing roots here,” he says.

Hooking investors

A significant contributor to the growth of the UAE’s real estate market is the country’s Golden Visa scheme, which has played a key role in attracting foreign investment.

“The Golden Visa has been instrumental in transforming the UAE into a more attractive and viable option for investors and entrepreneurs worldwide,” says Bond. 

The visa offers a 10-year renewable residency to property investors who invest at least AED5m in the real estate sector. This move has fuelled the surge in property transactions and brought about a significant shift in the demographic landscape.

The UAE government has also moved to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of companies. This eliminates the need for a UAE national to hold the majority share in mainland companies, attracting more foreign investors to establish businesses and invest in real estate. 

Property Finder has also observed burgeoning interest from global buyers, suggesting that the UAE is increasingly seen as a place for economic diversification. The UAE’s multicultural ethos, housing over 200 nationalities, makes it a prime location for international real estate investments.

“In Dubai alone, there has been about a 52 per cent year-on-year increase in the total volume of transactions, rising from around 20,000 transactions in the first quarter of 2022 to about 31,000 in the first quarter of 2023,” says Bond.  

“Similarly, the transaction value in Abu Dhabi skyrocketed over 200 per cent from AED3.6bn in the first quarter of 2022 to AED11.6bn in the same period this year.”

Dubai property market soars during bumper June

In June 2023, Property Finder’s data revealed significant growth in Dubai’s property market. There were 10,419 transactions valued at AED30.41bn, indicating a year-on-year rise of 17.78 per cent in volume and 34.1 per cent in value.

This was the highest June transaction volume and value over the past decade.

Buyers’ preferences for property types largely mirrored those of the previous month. Of all prospective purchasers, 57.5 per cent were keen on apartments, and 42.5 per cent were interested in villas or townhouses. Two-bedroom flats were the top choice, contributing to 34.1 per cent of searches, trailed closely by one-bedroom apartments at 33.4 per cent.

In the rental sector, 78.5 per cent of tenants were in the market for flats, with 61.8 per cent favouring furnished properties. Among villa or townhouse tenants, three-bedroom units were most in demand, chosen by 43.4 per cent of renters.

The off-plan segment significantly influenced the rise in the real estate market in June, accounting for 49.6 per cent of all sales transactions and 41.5 per cent of the total transaction value. Off-plan property sales volume grew by 46.6 per cent year-on-year, leading to over 5,165 transactions. The value of these transactions experienced an 80.26 per cent surge, exceeding AED12.6bn.

Areas including Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Harbour, Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Hills, Burj Khalifa, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jumeirah Village Circle, Umm Suqeim Third and Dubai Design District represented 68 per cent of the total off-plan sales value and 54 per cent of transactions.

Existing property transactions recorded a minor dip of 1.3 per cent year-on-year, totalling about 5,254 transactions. However, their value continued to grow by roughly 13.4 per cent, attaining AED17.8bn.

The most sought-after locations for owning flats were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, whereas Dubai Hills Estate and Palm Jumeirah were popular for those wishing to own villas or townhouses.

 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11038561/main.gif
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Dubai tenders Warsan waste-to-energy consultancy contract

    16 February 2026

    Dubai Municipality has issued a tender for consultancy services on the second phase of the Warsan waste-to-energy (WTE) plant.

    The tender covers feasibility, procurement and construction supervision services for the project.

    The bid submission deadline is 25 February.

    The project relates to the planned expansion of the Warsan WTE plant in Dubai. The scheme has an estimated budget of $500m.

    The facility will be located in Warsan 2, next to the Al-Aweer sewage treatment plant.  As MEED understands, it will use treated wastewater from that facility.

    The project scope includes construction of treatment lines, a boiler hall, waste bunkers, a flue gas treatment system, a main electrical station and associated infrastructure.

    The contract duration is six years

    Expansion strategy

    The original Warsan WTE plant, Dubai’s first major WTE public-private partnership (PPP) project, reached full commercial operations in 2024.

    Located in the Warsan area, the AED4bn ($1.1bn) facility treats 1.9 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, generating up to 220MW of thermal energy that is fed into the local grid.

    In February 2023, state utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) and Dubai Waste Management Company signed the power-purchase agreement (PPA) for the project.

    Dubai Waste Management Company, the special-purpose vehicle implementing the scheme, reached financial close in June 2021 for the project.

    The main contractor was a consortium of Belgium’s Besix Group and Hitachi Zosen Inova of Switzerland.

    The expansion aligns with Dubai’s long-term waste strategy. In February 2022, the emirate approved a AED74.5bn budget covering waste management initiatives from 2021 to 2041.

    The strategy promotes innovation in waste management, recycling and energy conservation. It anticipates private sector contributions of AED70.5bn, equivalent to about 95% of the total planned investment.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15660272/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Saudi Arabia wastewater plant reaches financial close

    16 February 2026

     

    The planned $500m industrial wastewater treatment plant (IWWTP) in Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has reached financial close, sources have confirmed to MEED.

    Located in Jubail Second Industrial City, the facility will treat and recycle wastewater from Satorp’s under-construction Amiral chemical derivatives complex, also in Jubail.

    The project reached financial close after hedging arrangements were completed on 12 February, sources said.

    A consortium of Saudi utilities provider Marafiq, the regional business of France’s Veolia and Bahrain/Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding is developing the project under a 30-year concession agreement.

    Saudi Aramco Total Refining & Petrochemical Company (Satorp), a joint venture of Saudi Aramco and France’s TotalEnergies, awarded the contract last September.

    As MEED exclusively reported, Egypt’s Orascom Construction is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the project, which is expected to be commissioned in 2028.

    Marafiq, formally Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu, will own a 40% stake in the dedicated project company. Veolia Middle East will hold a 35% stake, and Lamar Holding’s Lamar Arabia for Energy will hold the other 25%.

    The planned IWWTP, which will primarily serve the $11bn sprawling Amiral chemicals zone, will implement advanced water treatment and recovery technologies to process complex industrial effluents, including spent caustic streams. Treated water will be reintegrated into the industrial processes, supporting closed-loop reuse and energy efficiency.

    As of February, more than 50% of construction on Satorp’s Amiral facility has been completed. Commissioning is targeted for the end of 2027.

    Construction is also ongoing on a separate industrial wastewater treatment plant (IWTP8) in Jubail. Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works is the contractor for the development’s fourth expansion phase.

    The Marafiq-owned project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the quarter.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15660112/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Riyadh tenders Expo 2030 site offices contract

    16 February 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC), tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue, has tendered a contract that includes the construction of site offices required for the initial construction works.

    MEED understands that the package was retendered in early February, with a bid submission deadline of 26 February.

    The contract was first tendered in May last year, with bids submitted in July, as MEED reported.

    The tendering activity follows the Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC) issuing a design-and-build tender for the construction of a new metro station serving the Expo 2030 site.

    The new metro station will be located on Line 4 (Yellow Line) of the Riyadh Metro network.

    MEED understands that the tender was floated in early February, with a bid submission deadline of 3 May.

    Construction work on the Expo 2030 Riyadh site is progressing at an accelerated pace. In January, ERC awarded an estimated SR1bn ($267m) contract to deliver the initial infrastructure works at the site.

    The contract was awarded to the local firm Nesma & Partners.

    The scope of work covers about 50 kilometres (km) of integrated infrastructure networks, including internal roads and essential utilities such as water, sewage, electrical and communication systems, and electric vehicle charging stations.

    Contractors are also bidding for infrastructure lots two and three. In December, MEED reported that ERC had floated another tender for the project’s initial infrastructure works.

    The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport, providing direct access to various landmarks within Riyadh.

    Countries participating in Expo 2030 Riyadh will have the option to construct permanent pavilions. This initiative is expected to create opportunities for business and investment growth in the region.

    The expo is forecast to attract more than 40 million visitors.

    In a statement, the Public Investment Fund said: “During its construction phases, Expo 2030 Riyadh and its legacy are projected to contribute around $64bn to Saudi GDP and generate approximately 171,000 direct and indirect jobs. Once operational, it is expected to contribute approximately $5.6bn to GDP.”

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15659580/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Acwa refinances $2.45bn Hassyan IPP debt

    16 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Arabia’s Acwa has announced it has refinanced the existing debt facilities of the Hassyan independent power project (IPP) in Dubai.

    In a post on social media platform LinkedIn, the developer said the transaction is the largest refinancing it has completed, valued at $2.45bn.

    It added that the deal is backed by a new group of lenders. These lenders have yet to be disclosed.

    The Hassyan IPP has a generation capacity of 2,400MW and reached full commercial operations in 2023.

    The project was originally developed as a coal-fired IPP. It was later converted to operate on natural gas instead, reflecting changes in Dubai’s power generation strategy.

    A consortium comprising Acwa – formerly Acwa Power – and China’s Harbin Electric won the contract to develop the project in 2016.

    Acwa and Harbin Electric hold 26.95% and 14.7% stakes, respectively, in the project company Hassyan Energy Company. Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) holds 51%, while Silk Road Fund owns 7.35%.

    The Hassyan plant forms part of Dewa’s wider generation portfolio. Other major assets include the Jebel Ali and Al-Aweer power complexes, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park and the Hatta hydroelectric project.

    MBR Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world, with a planned capacity target of 7,260MW by 2030.

    Dewa recently extended the bid deadline for its seventh phase, which will add 2,000MW from photovoltaic solar panels and includes a 1,400MW battery energy storage system with a six-hour capacity.

    The new bid submission deadline is 1 May.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15659537/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • SWPC rebrands as Sharakat to reinforce PPP focus

    13 February 2026

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) has unveiled a new corporate identity as part of a strategy to reinforce the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs).

    At a ceremony in Riyadh, the company said it will operate under the name Sharakat, reflecting its “evolution and expanding mandate in the kingdom’s water sector”.

    The new identity comes as Saudi Arabia expands the use of PPPs to deliver infrastructure projects.

    In January, the government launched a National Privatisation Strategy targeting more than 220 PPP contracts by 2030, including projects in the water sector.

    The government is targeting over $64bn (SR240bn) in private capital investments in this period, which it said would be “a new phase focused on execution and accelerating delivery”.

    Previously, the 2018 privatisation programme had focused on the ‘foundational phase’.

    SWPC has served as the principal offtaker of all water in Saudi Arabia since 2017. Its mandate covers desalinated water, transmission and treatment projects. It also includes small-scale plants, collection networks and strategic water reservoirs.

    The total investment value of its current projects exceeds SR56bn ($14.9bn), the offtaker said.

    According to MEED Projects, SWPC has over $11bn-worth of PPP projects in the pipeline, with two projects ($2.10bn) currently under bid evaluation.

    In December, local firm Vision Invest was named as the preferred bidder to develop and operate the 859-kilometre Riyadh-Qassim independent water transmission pipeline project. 

    The consortium of Miahona (Saudi Arabia), Marafiq Company and Buhur for Investment was also named as the preferred bidder for the Arana independent sewage treatment plant (ISTP).

    Financial close for both projects is expected in 2026.

    Meanwhile, SWPC has issued a request for proposals for the $150m Riyadh East ISTP, which will have a treatment capacity of 200,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), expandable to 400,000 cm/day in the second phase.

    The bid submission deadline is 2 April. 

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/15647732/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall