In the secondary market, where properties are most vulnerable to the economic downturn because they are bought and sold before construction is completed, prices had fallen by 15 per cent to as much as 50 per cent in certain areas, brokers said.
“Most of the people in Abu Dhabi are offering properties at their original price now,” said Amer Saeed, a property consultant at the Abu Dhabi branch of the broker Re/Max.
“It ranges now between Dh1,100 (US$299) and Dh1,200 per square foot on Al Reem Island and Al Raha Beach, which are the main areas where foreigners can buy.
“But some people are selling below the original price. You can find a property for Dh1,000 per sq ft.”
The global economic crisis triggered a sharp reversal in property markets all over the world. Gulf countries, where prices had been rising rapidly last year, were particularly affected.
While the Abu Dhabi market has softened, it has fared better than other parts of the Gulf. In Dubai, apartment prices fell by 39 per cent in the first quarter of this year from the last quarter of last year, although they are stabilising in the most established communities, the consulting firm Asteco said.
Some analysts point to Abu Dhabi as among the region’s most promising markets. Investor sentiment is rising, partly because the level of speculative investment in the region’s markets has subsided, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Second Investor Sentiment Survey, a study of property professionals’ market views.
Abu Dhabi would be the stand-out market for property investors, said the report conducted in association with Cityscape.
“That investors are returning to investment fundamentals such as focusing on yield is a welcome finding, as is the suggestion that there is, at last, an end in sight to the current turmoil,” said Ian Ohan, the head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) investment transactions at Jones Lang LaSalle, said.
“With Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia suggested as the hot spots for investors in the coming years, the MENA region looks set to grow in significance even further.”
The price declines in Abu Dhabi’s secondary market had helped spur sales activity, brokers said, with the number of transactions climbing last month compared with February.
“Most of the people in Abu Dhabi are offering properties at their original price now,” said Amer Saeed, a property consultant at the Abu Dhabi branch of the broker Re/Max.
“It ranges now between Dh1,100 (US$299) and Dh1,200 per square foot on Al Reem Island and Al Raha Beach, which are the main areas where foreigners can buy.
“But some people are selling below the original price. You can find a property for Dh1,000 per sq ft.”
The global economic crisis triggered a sharp reversal in property markets all over the world. Gulf countries, where prices had been rising rapidly last year, were particularly affected.
While the Abu Dhabi market has softened, it has fared better than other parts of the Gulf. In Dubai, apartment prices fell by 39 per cent in the first quarter of this year from the last quarter of last year, although they are stabilising in the most established communities, the consulting firm Asteco said.
Some analysts point to Abu Dhabi as among the region’s most promising markets. Investor sentiment is rising, partly because the level of speculative investment in the region’s markets has subsided, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s Second Investor Sentiment Survey, a study of property professionals’ market views.
Abu Dhabi would be the stand-out market for property investors, said the report conducted in association with Cityscape.
“That investors are returning to investment fundamentals such as focusing on yield is a welcome finding, as is the suggestion that there is, at last, an end in sight to the current turmoil,” said Ian Ohan, the head of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) investment transactions at Jones Lang LaSalle, said.
“With Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia suggested as the hot spots for investors in the coming years, the MENA region looks set to grow in significance even further.”
The price declines in Abu Dhabi’s secondary market had helped spur sales activity, brokers said, with the number of transactions climbing last month compared with February.
