Dubai hot favourite for realty investment

Indians have by far remained the most prolific foreign investors in Dubai realty, outshining capital inputs from British, Russians and all others. As per the data from Government of Dubai’s Land Department, Indians have once again topped the charts as the number one investor in Dubai realty with a whopping investment of Rs 13,600 crore ($2 billion) into the sector in the first half of 2016 alone.

“Dubai’s real estate market is becoming an attractive proposition to a multitude of international investors. However, no other nation invested more money into Dubai than India, with little over half-a billion dollars i.e Rs 3,400 crore worth of investments in 2011; the investments from Indians have gone up ten-times in the last four years. Last year itself, they poured in Rs 37,060 crore ($5.45 billion) which was again an increase of 10% from the previous year. Dubai is increasingly becoming a hot favorite destination with Indians and their liking for Dubai can be attributed to a number of reasons which include its high capital gains, great return on investment, tax-free environment, proximity to India, transparent deals amongst many others”, said Asanga Silva, Deputy General Manager, Sumansa Exhibitions, the company bringing in Dubai Property Show to Mumbai from  December 9-11 at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC- MMRDA Grounds).

Overall, Indians have pumped in a total of Rs 1,24,440 crore ($18.3 billion) into Dubai realty since 2011.

“Indians are looking at profitable dividends in the form of rents, resale value and tax benefits. Investors here enjoy no lock-in period with no capital gains tax and no property tax, buyers can also secure assets ahead of the Expo 2020 boom”, added Asanga.

Investment in Dubai is but a rational choice. Apartment rental returns in the  city offer yields in the range of 7-12%. When compared to yields in London (3.5%), Hong Kong (2.82%) and Singapore (2.83%), Dubai becomes all the more attractive for investment. 

Masood Al Awar, Chief Commercial Officer, Dubai Properties, a leading real estate developer of Dubai said, “Dubai is the top performing investment location for real estate and, over the years, Indian investors have continued to view the Emirate as an appealing platform to fulfill their investment needs. 

Our participation in this year’s Dubai Property Show India highlights our role in leading the development drive across Dubai with a broad choice for end-users and investors in residential and commercial real estate, across the full spectrum of the market – from luxury high-end products to more affordable offerings.”

According to reliable sources, apartments remained an all-time favorite with Indians with over 60% looking to buy one while the preferred localities included popular places such as Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR), Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Business Bay, Jumeira Village Circle (JVC), Sports City and International City. The iconic Palm – Jumeirah remains a favourite for luxury apartments.

According to data from the Dubai Land Department (DLD), released by its Real Estate Research and Studies Department, total investment transactions for the first half of the year 2016 reached Rs 10,2,000 crore ($15 billion) from 26,000 investors made up of 149 different nationalities. In terms of expat investors, after Indians, British citizens were the second biggest group of purchasers of property, splashing out Rs 7,344 crore ($1.08 billion) through 2,010 transactions.

The unprecedented growth of Dubai's real estate market has attracted investors coming from all over the world. —ANI

Top 5 reasons why Dubai realty is an attractive proposition for Indians 

Attractive Rental yields and Tax-Free: The Indians are not new to the fact that Dubai offers the world's highest rental returns in the range of 7-12%. Moreover, there is no tax on rental income which makes it profitable for Indians to buy and rent the units.

Great bargains for investors: Dubai's real-estate sector gives you your money's true value for what you purchase. For instance, in London, a 21 sq m unit would cost Rs 6.8 crore ($1 million), whereas in Dubai, you can buy approximately 145 sq m unit with the same amount of money with no compromise on quality.

Moreover, rates in many locations in Dubai are comparatively lower than those of certain metropolitan cities in India. Dubai real-estate also offers better amenities at a lower price. If we see the average ticket size for prime locations in Dubai including Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Dubai Downtown near Burj Khalifa and others, it is approx between $ 545,000 – 1. 1 million, which is around Rs 3.35 crore to Rs 6.69 crore. Same kind of ticket size in prime location in India would cost around Rs 5-10 crore.

Safety, security and political stability: Dubai offers political stability and an easy access to global and regional markets, besides boasting one of the lowest crime rates in the world, making the emirate a safe and secure zone. With its safe haven status and business-friendly policies, it is the ideal destination for Indian investors to park their funds without having to worry about their safety.

Transparent Deals: The sheer professionalism and transparency in Dubai real-estate market encourages and instills confidence to invest in the emirate. The procedure is also fairly straight forward, albeit, with certain restrictions.

Proximity to India and huge Indian population: Another reason that many Indians are interested in the property sector of Dubai is because Indians make up for almost 40%  of the city’s population. Indian investors are quite at ease investing in Dubai as it's a home away from home. With short and frequent flights from most Indian airports (more than 1700 flights a month), and hassle-free visa availability, Dubai is an easily accessible destination for frequent travel for both business and recreational purposes. For them it's just like buying property in say Mumbai or Delhi, only a lot easier and lot more profitable.