JEDDAH – Dubai Marina has virtually been one of the first developments to come out of the worst economic crunch. Being a top-notch community in Dubai, everything about Dubai Marina is best designed to meet the accommodation needs of the rich. The high demand of apartments for sale and rent in Dubai Marina has helped it a great deal in shaking off the effects of recession soon enough and being one of the first communities of Dubai to come out of the global economic meltdown. The state of the art amenities offered by several towers within the development make Dubai Marina apartments for sale and rent a magnet for investors. Such high demand and the increasing prices of units within this locality are depicted in its performance on Bayut.com as well, where it is the best performing area in Dubai. Apartments for sale in Dubai Marina command the kind of attention from investors that is unprecedented for any other development in the whole of the UAE. Dubai is home to a host of top-notch developments but Dubai Marina apartments receive more attention from investors at Bayut.com as compared to apartments in other communities. Bayut.com data showed the year began on a good note for apartments for sale in Dubai Marina when they attracted 14.42 percent of the total number of investors and buyers browsing apartments for sale in Dubai. The percentage steadily climbed the charts during the rest of the year and crossed the threshold of fifteen percent in March 2012 when it touched 15.58 percent. It was a pretty impressive figure for Dubai Marina apartments as the increase of one percent represents thousands of more prospective buyers. The development hit its personal best in September 2012 when it claimed 17.17 percent of the total number of investors interested in buying Dubai Marina apartments. The prices of apartments in Dubai Marina have also steadily climbed in 2012. The average price of a studio apartment which was AED 1,000,651 in May 2008, then fell to AED 511,613 in July 2010 and the figure climbed and reached AED1,055,793 in January 2013. Data recorded by Bayut.com showed that the average price of 1-bedroom apartments for sale in May 2008, before the crisis struck, was hovering around AED1,724,138. Within 8 months, this price had dropped down to AED1,521,898 in December 2009. This went on until December 2010 when prices started going up. The average price of 1-bedroom apartment went up from AED972,903 in November 2010 to AED1,016,977 in December and from there onwards, the rates have been steadily climbing. Over the course of last one year, the average price of 1-bedroom apartment has inched up from AED1,002,012 in January 2012 to AED1,275,946 in January 2013. The same phenomenon was repeated in 2-bedroom apartments where the average price of 2-bedroom apartments for sale in Dubai Maria fell from AED 3,051,285 in May 2008 to their lowest of AED 1,593,324 on Bayut.com in March 2011. However, 2012 was much better when the average price of 2-bedroom apartment was AED1,781,474 in January 2012 and it crossed the 2 million mark in January 2013 when it increased to AED2,140,841. There were similar kind of ups and downs in the average price of 3-bedroom apartments but nothing beats the rise witnessed by 4+ bedroom apartments that were up for grabs in Dubai Marina. The 4+ bedroom apartments for sale in Dubai Marina are a mark above the rest in more than just one way. This is also reflected in their price where you have to own a fortune to be able to buy such luxurious property. These top-of-the-class units attract wealthy expat and locals for whom quality trumps the price. The limited supply of these units is also balanced by high prices, making them much sought-after despite the towering prices which are continuously on the rise. Because of their high value and limited supply, 4+bedroom apartments are valued commodities and have steadily recorded price hikes. The average price of 4+bedroom apartments was struck by recession when it dropped from AED7,610,815 in May 2008 to AED5,023,058 in June 2010. Fortunately, this steep fall announced the end of the worst period and from this point onwards the prices began recovering. In January 2012, the average price of 4+bedroom apartments was AED6,307,738 which is currently hovering around AED8,284,822 in January 2013 with a percentage increase of 23.9 percent. All of this indicates an upward trend. The same trend prevailed in the performance of Dubai Marina apartments for rent. Apartments for rent in Dubai Marina are just as popular as its apartments for sale which is why they secure a healthy percentage of total number of prospective renters browsing Dubai Marina apartments for rent. This percentage has been steady throughout 2012 and climbed during the second and third quarter 2012. When the year began, 10.64 percent of total visitors browsing apartments for rent in Dubai were interested in specifically those apartments which were available on rent in Dubai Marina. This percentage kept increasing toward the end of second and third quarter. In September 2012, Dubai Marina rental apartments recorded their personal best performance with 14.54 percent visitors. Toward the end of the year however, this percentage was only a fraction more than what it was when the year began i.e. 10.65 percent. This phenomenon could be related to the fact that the activity is generally slow toward the end of the year in general. The same can be said about the rents of apartments in Dubai Marina which have been rising too - slowly but surely. – SG
