DUBAI: Pakistanis have made it to the list of top five nationalities buying property in Dubai as the real estate market of Arabian gulf’s business capital rises by a whopping 90 percent in April and May combined, Arab media reported on Tuesday.
The total number of nationalities investing in the emirate are127, with UAE nationals (Emiratis) topping the chart with investment worth 12.024 billion dirhams, according to Emirates 24/7. Indians remained second with 5.88 billion dirhams investment during first five months followed by Saudis who bought properties worth 3.65 billion dirhams. Whereas British and Pakistani citizen stood at fourth and fifth positions, investing 3.31 billion and 2.67 billion dirhams, respectively. The total investment figure in the estate market stood at 25 billion dirhams in the first three months of 2016, however, it reached 48 billion dirhams in first five months of the current year, the website claimed while quoting the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
“People talk of a correlation between lower oil prices and property, but we haven’t seen any such thing. People are buying and not all of them have any business with oil. There are a lot of investors with money who have trust in Dubai,” DLD Director General Sultan Butti bin Mejren said in an interview. Though KPMG, a consulting and audit firm, expected property prices to be under pressure this year due to lower oil prices and a strong US dollar, it said the market would start to recover in 2017 as infrastructure work surrounding the Expo 2020 was underway.
