Indian and Pakistani buyers cash in on Dubai realty

For the right price and property, overseas investors are still putting their money in Dubai realty. Recently, a seven-bedroom villa at Emirates Hills changed hands for a second time in seven months … and at a handsome premium. The property — all of 20,213 square feet — was bought last December for Dh18.92 million and has now been bought again by an Indian buyer for Dh23.3 million. It is located close to the Montgomerie Golf Club. “Within six months we have sold the same villa in the high-end segment twice,” said Riyaz Merchant, CEO of Realty Force. “If your property is priced right and has the right location, it will get a buyer. The market dynamics don’t really change a buyer’s intent.” In the first six months, overseas investors were fairly active in the transaction flows, with the Dubai Land Department registering $1.6 billion in deals involving Indians and $1 billion from Saudi buyers. And buyers from Pakistan are right up there when it comes to real estate exposures in Dubai. With the Pakistani rupee remaining under pressure, and the upcoming elections adding to the uncertainty over the economy, there investors see good reason to retain their funds here. With good reason too. On an annualised basis, Pakistani investors in Dubai property managed the highest returns between 2012-2018, according to a new report from GCP-Reidin. Taking currency impact alone, Pakistani investors benefited to the tune of a 54 per cent increase if they had bought property in Dubai in 2012 and sold now. For Indian buyers, the currency gains would have been around 48 per cent and 37 per cent for British investors. For instance, if a Pakistani investor had put up Dh2 million on a property in Dubai back in January of 2012, he would have seen value gains of PR 41.02 million if he sold it in June 2018 if it was sold for Dh2.88 million. For an Indian investor, this would have meant gains of Rs 23.86 million.