Dubai's real estate market continued to demonstrate post-pandemic resilience by recording sales transactions worth AED 30.5 billion in November, according to ZāZEN Properties, the UAE's leading sustainable real estate developer.

The homegrown brand recently launched off-plan sales of its latest project, ZāZEN Gardens at Al Furjan, and explained how the sector's best monthly performance since 2011 was driven by an uptick in interest in off-plan projects.

Last month, Dubai saw a 58.5% year-on-year increase in real estate transactions with 10,941 deals compared to 6,905 in November last year.

This growth was driven by a record-breaking performance in the off-plan sector.

A shortage of quality ready-to-occupy projects saw transactions for projects under construction in Dubai exceed Dh12.7 billion for the first time in a decade, reflecting an 87.1% increase, almost double the Dh6.8 billion recorded in the same month last year[3].

Dubai attracted 4,000 High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), the highest number of any country in the world this year.

This complements the nearly 70,000 millionaires currently living in the metropolis who are seeking to acquire real estate assets in desirable locations.

In addition, with the Qatar World Cup bringing a significant amount of tourism to the GCC countries, many visitors transiting the UAE are seeing off-plan purchases as an ideal investment opportunity.

As off-plan properties are priced at almost 20% less than ready-made units, the huge benefits it offers are very attractive.

They can be customised to some extent during the construction process prior to delivery, flipped profitably before construction is completed with the approval of the authorities, and act as an alternative investment to diversify one's portfolio with its lower purchase price and ability to facilitate additional cash flow compared to an off-the-shelf development.

Convenient payment structures, a wide choice of properties and a number of other benefits have led to off-plan developments gaining traction recently.

This momentum is expected to continue until 2026, with the construction sector expected to grow by almost 4% due to the UAE's global safe haven status and the government's drive to expand the manufacturing and industrial sectors, which require a larger workforce.

Whether you are an investor looking to live in a unit upon completion, rent it out, or utilise your investment at a later date, off-plan properties have proven themselves to be good investments.

At last year's COP27, the UAE pledged to increase its emissions reductions from 23.5% to 31%, achieving an 18% reduction by 2030 and a 60% reduction by 2040.

This is now helping to stimulate demand for sustainable real estate and ZāZEN Properties' latest project, ZāZEN Gardens, Al Furjan's first LEED Gold certified and wellbeing integrated development, is leading the way by minimising its carbon footprint through the reduction of almost 470 metric tonnes of CO2 per year.