The overwhelming popularity of Expo 2020 leads to record-breaking property sales

Confirming its astounding success, the Expo 2020 world fair registered an incredible 14,719,277 visits, as of 21 February, according to the Dubai Media Office. This impressive milestone comes merely days after the iconic Coldplay concert, which was part of the Infinite Night Series in Al Wasl Plaza. In order to encourage more people to attend the major event, the organizers launched a Season Pass Finale for only AED 500 (USD 3.6) at the beginning of this month, and as a result, domestic visits increased by 128%, and international ones were up by 19%.

Throughout February the global fair has witnessed a line-up of multiple high-profile occasions, including National Day celebrations of Jamaica, Denmark and Serbia, a visit from the 20-time Grand Slam champion; Novak Djokovic, as well as the Expo School Programme Young Stars performances. That being said, there are still a number of events worth looking forward to – a forum on Women’s Day on 8 March aimed at discussing gender-based discrimination in a professional environment, as well the 80’s Night with the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Bony M on 27 February, a concert by the Iranian star; Googoosh and much more.

Fuelled by the ever-lasting impact of Expo 2020, Dubai's rental property market is also thriving and has had a positive impact on real estate sales. In addition, thanks to the success of Expo 2020, there were 5,795 real estate transactions worth AED 16.7B (USD 4.5B) in January alone, according to Property Finder. This indicator makes the previous month the best January ever on record, with off-plan sales transactions having increased by a whopping 307.9%. At the same time, the total transaction value surged by 6.4% and volume increased by 3.5% in contrast with January.

The area of Dubai Harbour was the best-performing in terms of sales since it registered a total of AED 2.3B (USD 626M) worth of sales, as seen in the current data of Dubai REST. In particular, one of the newly released projects in Emaar Beachfront, called Beach Mansion, was leading the way, with 123 properties having been sold in the project. Beach Isle, Palace Beach Residence and Grand Bleu Tower, meanwhile, followed the lead, as they witnessed sales of 29, 25 and 21 units respectively. Other popular developments in Emaar Beachfront in January included Marina Vista, Sunrise Bay and Beach Vista. It is worth mentioning that Beach Mansion continues to be in demand in February as well, as there were 36 properties sold, worth AED 162.6M (USD 44.3M). The strong real estate buyers’ response to this luxury project can be attributed to its wide range of resort-like amenities, which include cabanas and BBQ areas, a dedicated fitness area and an infinity-edge swimming pool, among others.

As stated by Lynette Sachetto, Director of Research and Data at Property Finder, the picture is still not clear in terms of the outlook of 2022, however, this year is likely to continue delivering high sales volumes and price surges in prime areas. This is owing to the fact that the new supply in prime areas and in certain property types, such as villas and townhouses, is expected to be low, which will lead to a capital value increase. Moreover, the off-plan real estate sector in Dubai will continue on an upward trajectory thanks to attractive pricing, investor sentiment and overall high-quality projects launching in the market.