Dubai property index shows real score
Dubai property prices rose 0.7% in the final quarter of 2009, compared to the previous quarter, according to new research.
The figures from the new Sales Price Index for Dubai (SPID), which has been launched by REIDIN.com in partnership with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency and Dubai Land Department, is regarded as the emirate’s first accurate property index that will be a benchmark for the industry.
Until now data has been hit and miss but this new index is aimed at providing the market with a series of indices and data sets that can help improve transparency across the market and help real estate professionals benchmark and analyse residential price trends.
According to the latest information, the price of villas rose by 2.6% during the fourth quarter but overall prices are down 19.7% in 2009 compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
Some of the 10 main districts covered by the index included Palm Jumeirah, where prices showed an increase of 2 % quarter on quarter. However, the quarterly figures for both Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Lake Towers fell by 19% during the same period, the report shows.
‘Ensuring the accuracy of market data and relevance to local market conditions is our top priority, which has prompted us to appoint an advisory committee, comprised of academicians and industry professionals from different emerging economies to monitor the quality of the indices,’ explained Ahmet Kayhan, chief executive of REIDIN.com.
‘Furthermore, we have established a Property Indices Oversight Committee to be responsible for reviewing and recommending changes in index policies and procedures, required data elements, qualifying properties, monthly index production review and taking of any other actions deemed necessary to assure index statistical integrity,’ he added.
Meanwhile one of the UAE’s most respected businessmen says that stabilisation and slow growth is the best prospect for Dubai’s real estate sector. Habtoor Group founder Khalaf Al Habtoor, said he would like to see price increases of around 10% in the next three years.
‘We don’t want prices to rise, we want it to stabilise to give appetite to the people of this country, to the people visiting this country to buy and rent,’ he said.