Dubai's Jumeirah Bay Island, also known as the Island of Billionaires, has seen a surge of interest from the super-rich, especially in the post-Coward period, when property prices on the man-made island have skyrocketed.
Jumeirah Bay Island, home to ultra-luxury properties and high-end developments such as the Bulgari Lighthouse, set another sales record on Monday when a 24,500 square foot plot of sand was sold for Dhs125 million, an average of Dhs5,100 per square foot, beating the previous record of Dhs91 million worth of transactions.
Anne Ogilvie and Lyndsey Redstone, associate partners of Knight Frank, represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
The island set another record in February 2023 when Bulgari Lighthouse sold the most expensive penthouse in Dubai for Dhs410 million.
Chris Whitehead, managing partner at Luxhabitat Sotheby's International Realty, said the high demand for the superlative luxury segment was largely driven by the current lifestyle and wealth shift among European buyers, as well as the recent increase in the trend of institutional investors returning to the bricks and mortar asset class.
"In addition, super-premium 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," he said.
The seller of the Dhs125 million plot reportedly bought it for Dhs36.5 million about two years ago and made a profit of more than 242%, pocketing Dhs88.5 million.
Industry executives said there was an influx of billionaires on Jumeirah Bay Island with very limited, if any, plots available for sale as most buyers were wealthy individuals looking to build their first or holiday home in the emirate.
In 2022, it is estimated that around 4,000 millionaires have moved to the UAE, attracted by the safety and security of the country after its successful handling of the pandemic.
According to Luxhabitat Sotheby's International Realty, Jumeirah Bay has the highest density of billionaires within a single region of the UAE, surpassing Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Dubai Hills in terms of billionaire density per square metre.
The data shows that the first quarter of 2023 continued to see positive sales growth in the super prime locations, with Jumeirah Bay registering the largest increase in transactions at 220% and reaching a value of Dhs2.05 billion, ahead of Al Barari, Downtown and Emirates Hills.
Similarly, Jumeirah Bay joined The Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Hills as the top three super prime flats traded between January and March 2023.
Jumeirah Bay had the highest average price of Dhs10,594 per square foot and an average price of Dhs93.3 million, despite only 22 units being sold in the first quarter of 2023.
Flats in Jumeirah Bay sold for an average of Dhs91.2 million, reflecting an average price increase of up to 40% in the first quarter. Interestingly, four of the top ten deals came from Jumeirah Bay.
A highly sought-after property destination, land prices on the island have soared threefold in recent years.
Andrew Cummings, partner and head of prime residential at Knight Frank, says Jumeirah Bay Island has not only cemented itself as the number one location for Dubai's ultra-high net worth individuals, but has also created a sub-market that only the super-rich can access.
"A Dhs125 million deal usually represents a spectacular penthouse or palatial mansion. However, the exclusivity of Jumeirah Bay means that this can only be bought on sandy land used to build a dream home. This is another sign that Dubai is the number one destination for international real estate investment due to its attractive lifestyle and business-friendly environment," he said.
