Indians go big in Dubai’s real estate sector

Being the largest ethnic population in not just Dubai, but the whole of UAE, the Indians hold an immense interest in the region. In recent years, Indians have been the top foreign investors in Dubai’s real estate sector when it comes to investors from outside the Arab world, surpassing capital input from wealthy investors from Europe, Americasand even Russia.

Indian investors put in a whopping AED 20.81 billion ($5.6 billion) into Dubai’s real estate sector in 2015. The amount was a 10% increase from the AED 18.123 billion ($4.93 billion) Indians invested in Dubai in 2014. And why would they not when Dubai, with one of the few regulated realty markets in the entire region, is only a few hours’ flight away. The city is an important business and tourism hub,as well as an operational base for global companies looking to cater to the massively important Middle Eastern and African region.
Apartment rental returns in Dubai also make it pretty easy for many investors to take the leap of faith in Dubai. According to leading UAE property portal Bayut.com, apartment rental yields in Dubai fell between 7% and 10%. Comparing it with data from Global Property Guide, average yields in other global real estate investment hubs like London (3.5%), Singapore (2.83%), Hong Kong (2.82%) and even India (2.22%) stand much lower than yields in Dubai, making the city extremely lucrative to investors.

Specifics

According to the data shared by Bayut.com, a large number of Indians used the website in 2015 to look for properties up for sale and rent. The portal said of the leads generated from India, a majority (60%) were dedicated to properties in Dubai that were up for sale. In terms of property type, the website said of the leads generated for on-sale properties, 82% corresponded to apartments. It said the trends clearly showed that Indian investors were naturally inclined towards buying apartments over any other property type, as the category offered some of the best returns in the world.

Taking stock of locality-wise interest, the portal said the localities that generated most leads from Indian buyers looking for apartments were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Business Bay and International City, in that order.
It said the results also revealed that Dubai was not scoured for investments opportunities by the uber-rich or high net-worth Indians only. Dubai Marina, Business Bay and Downtown Dubai are among the costliest areas in Dubai for buying apartments, while JLT is preferred by middle to high income buyers. On the other hand, International City is one of the cheapest areas when it comes to buying apartments in Dubai. The result show the diversity of Indian investors doing realty business in Dubai, as well as the city’s ability to cater to investors from all cadres.

With constant improvement in tourism, real estate, financial and transportation sectors, Dubai is fast becoming one of the best places in the world to live, work and do business in. The rapid development in all sectors of the emirate’s economy is creating thousands of job opportunities that attract the best brains in the world, be it start-ups, professionals, small businesses or globally present companies.
Indians’ inclination for Dubai is quite understandable, especially considering they can enjoy a scrumptious VadaPav in the city after stealing a realty deal of a lifetime.