Saudi- Saudi nationals invest over AED4.6bn in Dubai properties

(MENAFN-Arab News) The amount of international real estate transactions for 2013 exceeded AED114 billion, nearly half of the AED236 billion total, according to Dubai Land Department (DLD)

“We anticipate that Dubai’s real estate market will continue to grow this year, with an even higher level of demand likely to be generated from Dubai’s winning bid to host Expo2020,” said Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of DLD

According to the statistics, Saudi citizens made transactions worth AED4.6 billion during this period. Foreign nationals from 162 countries conducted property transactions in Dubai from the beginning of January until the end of December 2013, with nationals from India generating the greatest amount of international investment, followed by those from Britain and Pakistan

“Our registry has recorded that there were more than 160 foreign nationalities making property transactions in the emirate last year,” Sultan Butti bin Mejren added

The DLD investment report, which tracks the department’s real estate transaction activities over the course of the year, revealed that citizens of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states contributed AED33 billion from 7,548 investors in 2013

Emirati investment formed the major share of this figure with total transactions of AED24 billion, while citizens of Saudi Arabia came in at second place after making transactions worth AED4.6 billion. The remaining AED1 billion was shared between Gulf nationals from the four remaining GCC countries — Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait

Arab investors from outside of the GCC also contributed significantly to real estate activity last year, with their total value of investment amounting to more than AED12 billion

DLD’s report revealed that 16 different Arab nationalities were involved in property transactions in 2013, with Jordanian investors ranked highest at nearly AED2.6 billion worth of deals. They were followed by citizens of Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Palestine and Libya

The total value of non-Arab investment in the Dubai real estate market for 2013 amounted to more than AED69 billion, spread between 140 nationalities. Indian nationals were ranked the highest value foreign investors, making a total of AED18 billion worth of property transactions. British investment came second at AED10.4 billion, followed by Pakistanis with AED8.6 billion.