Sales of properties valued at over Dh5 million and Dh10 million reached a record high last year, with 10,296 and 3,806 transactions, respectively, marking a 54.5% and 68.4% increase, according to real estate consultancy CBRE. The report indicates that 67.2% and 70.8% of total transaction volumes for properties valued at Dh5 million or more and Dh10 million or more, respectively, were from off-plan sales. Due to high demand, the majority of sales in these segments occurred in relatively new developments that are evolving into prime locations such as Downtown Dubai, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island, Palm Jumeirah, and District One. These areas are considered prime and super-prime, where properties sold for more than Dh5 million are classified as prime, and those sold for more than Dh10 million are considered super-prime. Despite the robust performance in these segments, the overall sales transactions within the prime and super-prime categories decreased by 15.5% and 3.1%, respectively. Palm Jumeirah led in both prime and super-prime market segments, with 963 units worth more than Dh5 million and 593 properties worth more than Dh10 million sold.
Price growth
Leading the way in the prime segment, Jumeirah Bay Island and District One contributed to a year-over-year increase of 35.6% and 27.2%, respectively, in average prices to Dh4,604 per square foot in Q4 2023, marking a 22.5% rise from the previous year. In CBRE-overseen communities, the average sales price of prime residential assets reached Dh28.3 million.
In the super-prime segment, the average price increased by 20.4% in Q4 2023, reaching Dh4,900 per square foot.
Jumeirah Bay Island and District One experienced the most significant increases in average sales rates at 28.5% and 22.4%, respectively. The final quarter of the year witnessed super-prime units in select CBRE-monitored submarkets achieving average selling prices of Dh34.1 million, driven by high-value transactions in Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island.
