Dubai's real estate sector boomed in 2023, recording a jump of more than 128.5 per cent year-on-year to 9,800 sales transactions, compared to 5,739 a year ago.

Data provided by Property Finder, a leading regional real estate portal, showed a 178 per cent jump in transactions in the first month to over Dh28 billion.

"In terms of value, transactions of existing properties witnessed a year-on-year growth of around 42 per cent to over Dh16 billion, compared to Dh11.4 billion in January 2022, recording the highest volume and value of transactions for the month in a decade," the portal said.

Scott Bond, UAE country manager at Property Finder, said the new year has certainly got off to a good start, continuing last year's momentum and enhancing the resilience of Dubai's real estate sector." The coming months look set to see a big spike in property investment, driven by steady housing demand and a rising propensity for ownership. With evolving consumer preferences and record year-on-year success in January this year, we continue to see a positive outlook for Dubai's multi-faceted real estate sector as a trusted go-to market for our clients."

According to data released by real estate consultancy ValuStrat, mainstream prices in the city are expected to increase by an average of 7.0% to 10% in 2023." However, competition from off-plan launches and higher mortgage rates are expected to put downward pressure on the secondary market. Residential rent increases are expected to stabilise by the end of 2023," said ValuStrat.

"The fourth quarter of 2022 crowned a bumper year for the Dubai real estate market. Sales transactions reached record highs, with off-plan transactions outpacing existing homes, prime villa capital values surpassing the 2014 peak and rental increases being the highest.

2022 was an important year for the Dubai property market - recording the highest ever property sales volumes and values," the property consultancy said.

Data from Property Finder reveals a significant evolution in property preferences among landlords and tenants.

According to the findings, 59 per cent of those interested in owning property in Dubai are looking for flats, while 41 per cent are interested in villas/rowhouses.

In the rental sector, 80% of tenants are consistently choosing flats, while 20% are looking for villas/rowhouses.

While furnished properties in Dubai gained 46% of the market preference, 54% of the demand remains for unfurnished units, with 66% of tenants looking for furnished units and 34% preferring unfurnished units. Some 41 per cent of market demand is for one-bedroom units, followed by two-bedroom units.

In comparison, 54 per cent of renters are looking for one-bedroom units, followed by 29 per cent looking for two-bedroom units, the report said.

In January 2023, both existing and off-plan transactions recorded the highest performance. In terms of transaction volume, existing (second-hand/existing) transactions recorded a year-on-year increase of approximately 56%, with over 4,800 transactions registered.

Off-plan transactions stood out with a 90 per cent year-on-year increase compared to 3,086 in January 2022, recording over 5,000 transactions; the value also increased by 130 per cent to over Dhs12.1 billion compared to Dhs5.3 billion in the same period last year. The portal said this was the highest volume and value of unplanned transactions in January in the past decade.