Dubai residential property prices, which rose 36% in the twelve months ending in June 2014, fell 0.6% in August, suggesting the emirate’s property market has reached the peak of its post-financial crisis rally.
The figures are from the sales price index by Reidin, which provides information on UAE property. The data shows a marked difference compared with August 2013, when the sales index rose more than 2% – a faster rate than in either of the two prior months, according to the Reidin data.
Craig Plumb, head of research at property consultancy JLL Mena, says the summer months have brought a “welcome levelling-off” in property prices that will reassure investors the market is not overheating.
“The broad-based recovery witnessed in the residential sector over the past 18 months has now slowed down, as rental prices and sale values have stabilised in most locations,” he said, in a report released in September.
Higher transfer fees and mortgage caps, which the government imposed in the final quarter of last year to help bring the housing market under control, may explain the fall in values.
Abu Dhabi residential property prices grew 0.8% in August, according to Reidin, compared to growth of 20% in the twelve months ending in June 2014.
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