Dubai house prices slump: consultancy

[Naveed Yaseen]

DUBAI: House prices in former boomtown Dubai tumbled in the second quarter as the market in the Gulf emirate continues to reel from the global economic downturn, a UAE-based consultancy firm said on Monday.

Colliers International’s Dubai House Price Index slumped 48 per cent in the three months ended June from the same period in 2008 on concerns over financing, expatriate job security and lack of transparency on project delays.

However, the rate of decline eased to nine per cent in the second quarter compared with a 42-per cent plunge in the first quarter, according to Colliers.

The average price rate for residential property fell to 949 dirhams ($259) per square foot or 10,215 dirhams ($2,783) per metre square in the second quarter from 1,037 dirhams ($283) per square foot or 11,162 dirhams ($3,041) per metre square in the first quarter. It gave no directly comparable figures for the second quarter of 2008.

“In the coming months, the market will be searching for further evidence of market stabilisation as we draw nearer to the bottom of the market prices,” said Ian Albert, regional director at Colliers.

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