Dubai prices falling

Property prices in one of Dubai's most exclusive residential developments are falling steeply according to real estate agents...

They believe that property speculators are desperate to sell villas at Jumeirah Park and Jumeirah Islands before prices fall even further.

Their anecdotal evidence points to prices having fallen by up to 45 per cent in recent months and further falls are predicted.

According to Imran Aslam, Agent at Dubai-based property broker AAA, completed three to four bedroom villas on Jumeirah Islands are now on the market for as low as £499,000, down from £873,000 four months ago.

'It's a big difference now. Investors are quickly reducing prices. They are also finding they have got too many properties, so they want to sell. At the moment there is no stable price in the market,' he said.

Prices for off-plan villas are falling too. At Jumeirah Park, a 350 hectare planned residential community due for completion in the next few months, they have fallen in price by 40 per cent.

A tightening of credit means it is harder to get a mortgage and this is compounded by a regional liquidity squeeze, all of which is hampering would be buyers, agents said.

'The market is going down. This is the problem. There are people putting prices down and down because they want to sell. It's cheap now,' said Adriana Kapostikova, Broker at Dubai Waterfront Properties.

His firm has found that up-market villas on Jumeirah Islands, a smart residential enclave consisting of a series of man-made islands near Emirates Golf Club, have come down in value from £997,000 to £748,000, a fall of 30 per cent in recent months.

Abu Dhabi-based broker Ocean View has also seen prices fall and reckons that values at Jumeirah Park have slipped 40 to 50 per cent.

Source: www.propertywire.com