Palm Jumeirah

We keep talking about something that I know, you know It has no location.

Look it was it was talked about originally back in 2023 to be on the site of Dubai Pearl for those of you that remember that huge circular plot of land at the foot of Palm Jumeirah, but on terra firma next to Avani and next to Palm Beach Towers, which are the three towers in the Keeler Building, just on Alsafur Road there.

And I know because where I used to position myself in a previous company, where my workstation was, as it were, I looked out onto this piece of land.

And so it was pretty much in the forefront of my mind every single day.

Yeah, and it does suggest, doesn't it, given what we have been through, that the Dubai Land Department, together with the Department of Economy and Tourism, they're looking at ways of, look, how do we just get some stimulation happening with first-time buyers? And yeah, that is a fantastic idea.

initiative but remember this is only running until the end of tomorrow so get in while the getting in is open now last weekend i did mention that dubai recorded 86 property sales above 10 million dollars in the third quarter but that is down 34 percent on the previous quarter And like I said last weekend, even Palm Jumeirah prices have fallen.

However, out of those 86 transactions, 55 of them were villas, which explains exactly where these wealthy buyers, Mario, are putting their money.

According to Knight Frank, Dubai's prime neighborhoods, well, they fell 5% between Q2 and Q3.

Now, this was the first quarterly decline since 2020.

And on Palm Jumeirah, prices are down 9.1% over the past year.

I suspect that the current uncertainty is making even very wealthy buyers think twice.

Having said this, within the first nine months of this year, We still recorded well over 400 sales above that $10 million mark compared to 357 over the same period last year.

And yeah, boy, are we winding in to a brand new year of 2027.

Now, while Dubai's hyper luxury segment, and that is the $10 million plus homes, registered 86 high end transactions in Q3 for this year, mostly concentrated in Palm Jumeirah, prices in prime luxury neighborhoods, they did dip.

for the first time since 2020.

That is according to data out from Knight Frank.

But buyers at this level... are often less dependent on things like mortgage rates or certainly rental yields because they're purchasing for lifestyle, they're purchasing for wealth preservation, and sometimes because they just want a particular property in a particular location.

But I would be wary about suggesting that these strong luxury sales is actually evidence that the entire Dubai market is performing equally well.

For example, an apartment in JVC and a villa on Palm Jumeirah, if we were to compare the two, well, obviously, we're looking at two very different buyers.

So Dubai has several property markets operating at once.

It was very much off the coast.

It wasn't like one of these crazy like the world or the Palm Jumeirah.

And I said, I remember there being a harbor dugout in like in five minutes later, came back and says, I think it's this one.

I put it into Google Earth.

Yes, sir.

Ben sent me to Palm Jumeirah, to a street called Billionaire's Row, one of the most exclusive addresses on earth.

But I wasn't there for the luxury.

I wanted to understand the buyer, who they were, why they were moving here, and what was motivating the purchase.

Well, one there recently rented for 2.4 million, which is a huge sum for one of those villas.

And also on Palm Jumeirah, they're now starting to achieve sort of 1.5, 2 million dirhams as well.

A renovated villa in Meadows, well, that secured 1.6 million, which incidentally was a record for an unfurnished property in that community.

There was also quite a lot of activities in other sort of villa communities, Tal al-Ghaf, the main Arabian ranches and the springs, with Moudon and Town Square also performing well.

Even in popular communities, a well-maintained villa that is sensibly priced will clearly now attract much more attention quicker than an overpriced unit, which is why I say to landlords, please don't be greedy and make sure you price your villas and indeed your apartments sensibly.

Yeah, a lot of people will be looking at those numbers.

Jumeirah Golf Estate, I mean, wow, 2.4 million dirhams and Palm Jumeirah, that 2 million dirham price point.

Now, Dubai Municipality, is introducing tighter rules on shared accommodation, including restrictions on where unrelated individuals can live together.

To be continued.

Next week on Dubai Real, I visit Billionaire's Row on the man-made islands of the Palm Jumeirah, where I finally understand what ultra luxury really means.

When you wake up, you want to hit the blinds and then boom.

Yeah.

But real estate is about location, location, location.

If you tell me Saadiyat or Yas, 20, 30% less than Palm Jumeirah, I would say that's a good option.

Exactly.

Diversification is important.