Dubai residential property prices may rally towards previous peaks in 2018, according to a new forecast from ValuStrat.
The report noted that prime residential areas will continue to show resilience, following slight improvements in 2017.
In Q4 2017, the ValuStrat Price Index estimated that sale prices for residential fell 5.8 percent, with rent prices decreasing by 3.1 percent. Sale prices for offices, for their part, fell 10.1 percent, with rents dropping 1.1 percent.
Capital values for certain high-yielding mid-affordable areas may, however experience downward pressures in 2018, due to a rapidly growing supply, which will extending the current buyer’s market, ValuStrat said.
The advisory firm said it expects rents to go down further, especially in areas with hand-overs of overdue deliveries.
Additionally, the report noted that Grade A office rents continue to show strong performance, and that the average length of tourist visits to the UAE is expected to increase as new attractions open, which could improve hospitality performance.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UAE’s GDP is expected to grow 3.4 percent, with Dubai’s real GDP expected to grow 3.5 percent. In its 2017 Regional Economic Outlook, the IMF estimated a 1.3 percent total growth for the UAE in 2017, with Dubai’s GDP growth being calculated at 3.3 percent in 2017.
