Indian Investors pump 6Bn Dirhams into Dubai’s Realty

During the two waves of COVID-19, wealthy Indians picked up second homes in Dubai, lured largely by its tax-friendly laws and the availability of immediate residency status through real estate investments, not to mention an international lifestyle and the distance fro

BY Realty Plus
Published - Saturday, 03 Jul, 2021

Indian Investors pump 6Bn Dirhams into Dubai’s Realty

During the two waves of COVID-19, wealthy Indians picked up second homes in Dubai, lured largely by its tax-friendly laws and the availability of immediate residency status through real estate investments, not to mention an international lifestyle and the distance from Indian shores. Dubai’s real estate market has been booming over the past five months due to the influx of foreign investors, of which Indians pumped in 6 billion dirhams (Rs 12,100 crore) compared with 2.9 billion dirhams by UK investors and 1.4 billion dirhams by Chinese investors, Mahmoud AlBurai, senior advisor to the Dubai government, tweeted a few days ago. These sand castles certainly don’t come cheap – the luxurious apartments, villas and even hotel rooms can set one back by Rs 2 crore to upwards of Rs 20 crore. The rise in numbers has also been on account of the UAE’s Golden Visa programme, which is available for international investors and top talent, providing them with visas for up to 10 years. This is open to doctors, specialists, scientists and inventors as well as to talented creative and sporting individuals, and business, startup and real estate investors in the emirate. “The Dubai real estate market has done well during the pandemic and attracted several Indian investors primarily due to the way the COVID-19 situation was handled by the government there. Investment from both NRIs residing in UAE and HNIs from India totalled to around 6 billion dirhams in the last five months,” Akash Puri, Director International, India Sotheby’s International Realty, told. “There has been an increase in the number of people looking at Dubai market in the month of April 2021. Dubai’s property market witnessed more than 4,800 sales transactions throughout April worth $3 billion, which was the highest value in the last four years.” "Resident Indians are allowed to send up to $250,000 (Rs 1.85 crore) overseas every financial year. Real estate investors are eligible for a three-year Dubai residency visa if they invest not less than 1 million dirhams in a property and a five-year residency visa if they invest 5 million dirhams. The real estate investor visa includes permits for spouse and children," Puri explained. Most sales took place in Mohammed bin Rashid City, Dubailand, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Downtown Dubai, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills.