Jumeirah Islands has become a new hunting ground for elites choosing to make Dubai their home, joining the ranks of Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island, and Palm Jumeirah.
According to global real estate consultancy Knight Frank, the Islands accounted for more than 10% of transactions worth more than Dh10 million in the last three years, demonstrating that the area can maintain its value and become a prime neighborhood.
The most expensive home to sell in the man-made island cluster was a 4-bedroom 5,500-square-foot home that sold for Dh28 million (or Dh5,111 per square foot) in late December 2023. In the last year, 97 homes in the Jumeirah Islands have changed hands for a total of approximately Dh1 billion.
Will McKintosh, regional partner and head of residential for Mena at Knight Frank, stated that Dubai is no longer an emerging market, but rather one that has emerged.
“The growing list of prime residential neighbourhoods is yet another sign of maturity bedding in and it is only a matter of time before other areas such as Tilal Al Ghaf, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Al Barari and/or Blue Waters also make the transition to prime status,” he added.
Due to the high demand for properties on Jumeirah Islands, the number of homes available for sale has decreased by 28% in the last year to 279 homes, adding to the city’s 44% drop in prime home listings to around 4,900 properties, according to Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for Mena at Knight Frank.
He went on to say that buyers continue to pay record prices for homes in the Islands and spend similar amounts on refurbishing them, indicating a longer-term buy-to-hold or buy-to-live mentality that has defined the market for the last four years.
“As we saw throughout the pandemic, the ‘race for space’ underpinned the performance of villa prices in Dubai, which jumped by 17 percent over the last 12 months and the same has been true for Jumeirah Islands. The other factor contributing to its ascension to the prime club has been the unending surge in demand from international buyers for either waterfront homes, or those that offer access to parks and/or green spaces – and Jumeirah Islands provides both,” said Durrani.
According to Shehzad Jamal, partner for strategy and consultancy for MEA at Knight Frank, the desire to purchase a villa in Dubai increases with net worth, rising from 30% for those with a net worth of $2-5 million to 48% for those with personal wealth levels of more than $15 million. This figure rises to 59% among global high-net-worth individuals with net worths of more than $20 million.
