Renewed focus on the potential and possibly pent-up demand for affordable housing in Dubai, UAE, is spurring local government, investor and developer activity, said a report.

The first three months of this year showed little or no movement for Dubai’s residential sales market, stated property expert Asteco in its latest 'UAE Property View - Q1 2015' report.

Following on from the second half 2014 trends, overall apartment and villas sales prices continued to fall, registering a respective three and two per cent decline in the first half, said the report highlighting the shift in market preference away from high-end luxury to value-for-money projects located in completed or almost-complete developments.

“There have been a number of launches in recent months that have proven extremely popular in terms of take-up. Moves by Dubai Municipality to augment existing reasonably priced rental stock, with the allocation of over 100 hectares of land in Muhaisnah 4 and Al Quoz 3 and 4 to developers to build affordable housing for rent, to those earning between Dh3,000 and Dh10,000 ($817 and $2721)  per month," stated John Stevens, the managing director of Asteco.

The projects launched during the first quarter included the release of 1,000 three and four-bedroom townhouses at Zahra and Hayat in the new Town Square master-planned development by Nshama, located south of Dubai Bypass Road, where a three-bed is available from Dh1million ($272,205); Acacia Heights with its 479 apartments at Mohammed Bin Rashid City and Reef Residences including 378 apartments in Jumeirah Village Circle.

“This highlights the continuous expansion of the city further inland as developers target the more affordable segments of the market, with Damac having led this trend with its Akoya Oxygen project,” noted Stevens.

The trend witnessed in the second half of 2014 continued as transaction levels slowed and prices softened in selected areas whilst buyers looked for value-for-money projects specifically in completed or close-to-completed developments.

Despite property prices and rentals staying close to the Q1 2014 levels, Dubai remained unaffordable to many and therefore Dubai Municipality and developers shifted their attention to target the underrepresented affordable segment, said the report.

“Value-for-money has become more important than property prestige, and with a noticeable decline in buyers from Russia and the CIS countries, due to the worsening economic situation, this is prompting new opportunities, and we are seeing more GCC investor interest in reasonably priced properties, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including off-plan projects specifically designed for investors,” remarked Stevens.

According to Reidin data, transaction volumes for completed apartment properties were down by 12 per cent in the first half, with completed villas falling by 35 per cent compared to last year.

“Interestingly, we also finally saw a degree of willingness on the part of premium property vendors to reduce their asking rates, but with limited demand in this segment, transaction activity has been relatively low,” said Stevens.

According to him, location preferences saw buyers in Dubai Marina opt for completed properties with off-plan projects such as Marina Arcade, Sparkle Tower, and Marina Gate registering subdued levels of interest despite lower pricing bands, although Asteco expects interest to gather momentum as completion dates loom.

Stevens pointed out that the 35 per cent year-on-year decline in villa transactions in the first quarter was not unexpected due to the quantum of new supply, with stabilisation of prices in popular developments such as Arabian Ranches and Dubai Sports City, and a nine per cent quarter-on-quarter drop in sales prices registered at The Meadows and Springs communities.

Al Furjan and Jumeirah Park also declined by seven per cent and five per cent respectively, due to the large volume of properties currently for sale in both communities; and, at the very top-end of the market, Palm Jumeirah saw prices decline in the first quarter.
 
There was limited movement in the residential rental market with only minor adjustments in select areas, with demand centered on established communities and affordable products, augmented by the decision of many tenants to renew rather than relocate.

High-end apartments in Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai remain popular with secondary locations such as Dubai Sports City, also attracting good demand from middle-income residents as the community becomes more established.

“For villa rentals, the limited supply of stock in the ever-popular Jumeirah/Umm Suqeim area was good news for Al Barsha, and we saw increased interest here, driven also by location accessibility to schools and the city’s major attractions,” said Stevens.

On the office market scenario, Asteco said it witnessed a stable first quarter in terms of sales values and rental rates with strong enquiry levels from new companies looking for small units for trade license purposes effectively a mirror of the fourth quarter 2014 activity.

There were no significant changes in the sales sector and Business Bay and Jumeirah Lake Towers remained the most transacted communities, representing over 80 per cent of all office transactions, it added.-TradeArabia News Service