Weak rouble deters russian buyers from dubai property

The weak rouble is deterring Russian buyers from entering the Dubai property market.

Russians have long been one of the most dominant forces in Dubai's real estae market, but a report from Unitas and Reidin reveals that the country's weakening currency has impacted their appetite.

"At the higher end of the market, which has been historically reliant on foreign inflows, the price of a high-end villa in communities such as Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Downtown Dubai, prices have appreciated by 60 per cent in the last 12 months in rouble terms even as prices have registered declines of as much as 20 per cent in UAE dirhams," says the report.

"The number of enquiries from Russian are much less than before driven by rouble and oil price weakening," Kalpesh Sampat, director at SPF Realty told Emirates 24|7.