Dubai, United Arab Emirates: According to LUXHABITAT Sotheby's International Realty's analysis of Dubai Land Authority data, Dubai's super luxury property market witnessed Dh14 billion worth of transactions in the first quarter of 2023, reflecting a 21.72% QoQ decrease from the fourth quarter of 2022 ( quarter-on-quarter). The Super Luxury market in Q1 2023 now accounts for 21.7% of the overall Dubai residential market in Q1 2023.

In its analysis, LUXHABITAT Sotheby's International Realty has considered the following areas, which constitute the superlative property market according to data provided by the Dubai Land Department - in Al Barari, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Hills (luxury properties only), Emirates Hills, Jumeira Bay, Jumeirah Islands and Palm Jumeirah properties for sale.

The average price of super prime properties increased by 27.49% quarter-on-quarter to an average price of Dhs25.2 million with 1,811 units sold.

Other super prime areas that continued to see positive quarter-on-quarter sales growth were Al Barari (167.53%, Dhs926 million), Downtown Dubai (48.78%, Dhs3.4 billion) and Emirates Hills (83.35%, Dhs613.6 million). The average price of The Palm Jumeirah increased by 17.26% to Dhs9.5 million in the Dhs5.7 billion super prime sale.

Chris Whitehead, managing partner of LUXHABITAT Sotheby's International Realty, said: "We have seen a continued increase in residential transactions in super prime locations going into the second quarter. This continuity is largely driven by the current lifestyle and wealth transfer of European buyers and the recent trend of institutional investors moving back into the physical asset class. In addition, superb turnkey properties continue to be in low supply and sellers will decide on pricing and ensure a positive trend to drive the area through a historically slow summer."

Jumeirah Bay had the highest average price of Dhs10,594 per square foot, with properties averaging Dhs93.3 million, despite only 22 units being sold in the first quarter of 2023, truly giving it a real claim to the title of 'Island of Billionaires'. Flats in Jumeirah Bay sold for an average of Dhs91.2 million, reflecting an increase of as much as 40% in the median price. The most expensive of these was located at Bulgari Lighthouse & Bulgari Resorts & Residences, which also topped the list of most expensive deals with a price tag of Dhs410 million. Four of the top ten deals come from Jumeirah Bay. After Jumeirah Bay, prices per square foot were highest at Palm Jumeirah (AED 3,106 per square foot) and Emirates Hills (AED 2,396 per square foot). Jumeirah Bay also saw the highest growth in sales volume with a 220% quarterly increase.

In the Super Prime market, a total of 1,584 flats were sold with a total turnover of AED 9.8 billion, accounting for 66% of the overall prime market turnover. The top three regions accounting for the highest volume of super prime flat sales were The Palm Jumeirah (Dhs3.7 billion), Downtown Dubai (Dhs3.4 billion) and Jumeirah Bay (Dhs1.8 billion). The average cost of a super prime flat was Dhs28.4 million, up 34.62% quarter-on-quarter. off-plan super prime flat sales accounted for 70% of all flat unit sales in the first quarter of 2023.

In the super prime villa market, 294 villas were sold for a total transaction value of Dhs5.6 billion. The top three regions accounting for the highest volume of super prime villa sales were The Palm Jumeirah (Dhs1.9 billion), Dubai Hills (Dhs1.6 billion) and Al Barari (Dhs926 million). The average cost of a super premium villa was Dhs36.8 million, an increase of 37.2% year-on-year. The average price/sq ft of Super Prime villas has jumped by 53.15% to Dhs3,547/sq ft. 88% of Super Prime market sales are in the secondary residential market.

With volume in the super premium secondary market up 220% to Dh552 million, Al Barari proved to be the most popular area to buy in the secondary market, followed by Downtown Dubai (up 16.82% to Dh1.1 billion) and Emirates Hills (11.7% to Dh613 million.)