Dubai continues to see an influx of property buyers looking for ultra-luxury homes, especially penthouses with price tags of up to $10 million to $27 million, according to industry experts.
Most of these buyers are ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) from a number of overseas markets, including Europe and the so-called Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, which include Russia and Ukraine, among others, said Petri Mannila, director of sales at Penthouse.ae.
Demand for property in Dubai has started to pick up since the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in late 2020. According to Property Finder, sales of prime properties jumped 230 percent through the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, while prices in popular locations soared 40 percent.
In the past few months, Penthouse.ae said it has seen buyers snapping up premium properties priced at more than AED 40 million.
The company recently sold a penthouse for AED 80.5 million and has completed deals on a number of ultra-luxury properties, including a property worth AED 154 million on Jumeirah Bay Island and two more units worth AED 82 million and AED 62.9 million each on Palm Jumeirah.
Other completed transactions include luxury residences worth AED 50 million in BV Residences, Island 2; and units worth AED 43 million in Royal Atlantis Resort and Residences, Palm Jumeirah.
Another unit at Elysian Mansions in Tilal Al Gaf (AED 41 million), as well as Address Jumeirah Resort & Spa in JBR (AED 40 million) and an entire floor of Le Pont Tower in Port de La Mer (AED 42 million).
The real estate platform, a luxury division of real estate agency Metropolitan Premium Properties, has also just listed one of Dubai's most expensive move-in ready penthouses for AED 120 million ($36 million).
The 10,000-square-foot mansion is located in the Jumeirah Gate Tower in the Jumeirah Beach Residential (JBR) area, offering 360-degree views of the Dubai skyline and popular landmarks such as Al Ain Dubai, Burj Al Arab and the Palm Jumeirah.
Dubai's real estate market is seeing a large number of property transactions as the local government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the emirate's new visa policy attract interest from affluent buyers.
Just last week, more than 2,000 apartments and villas were sold for AED 4.61 billion, according to the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
Part of the emirate's appeal is that foreign buyers can own a piece of luxury real estate in Dubai at a lower cost than in other global cities such as London or New York.