Dubai's prime residential market is expected to remain buoyant until 2020 according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield Core.
However, the Emirate's affordable housing market will continue to present itself as something of an unstable investment opportunity.
The in-depth H1 Dubai Investment Outlook report reveals the prime residential market will benefit from limited availability in the few established areas and the steady demand, aided by the growing pool of regional and global investors looking to re-enter the bottoming market.
CEO David Godchaux says: "The relative resilience of prices in most of the established ultra-prime areas is an interesting aspect coming to the fore, underpinned by limited new supply and continued demand from UHNWI investors wanting to own ultra-prime properties in Dubai's iconic locations such as villas in Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills, along with a few luxury apartments in the Downtown and Marina districts and the new Jumeirah freehold developments like City Walk.
"The trend is stemmed by the long-term investment horizons and status factors of a majority of owners of prime residential real estate in Dubai - contrasting with the many investors-speculators of pre-2008."
A number of new residential projects, driven by the 'affordable housing' theme, have come to the market in the last few quarters, with attractive yields appealing to investors and real estate funds looking to diversify their real estate portfolio.
However, Mr Godchaux is quick to sound a word of caution. He says: "While we do not believe strongly in affordable housing as a compelling investment in the long-term in Dubai in comparison to other segments of the market, we still believe there are good opportunities to seize given that most potential customers in this segment are still unable to shift to ownership due to current mortgage restrictions keeping the yields at artificially high levels."
