Dubai property sales have fallen ‘off a cliff’ since start of Middle East war

Sellers of luxury villas have wiped tens of millions of pounds off asking prices, with sales down 19% in May from the previous month

Property sales in Dubai have fallen “off a cliff”, a leading market watcher has said, after war in the Middle East forced a dramatic slowdown in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.

Sales in the city dropped 19% in May compared with the previous month, accelerating from a 4% drop in April, the researcher ValuStrat found.

Transactions are now below half their level compared with the same point last year, it said.

“The ready homes market has not recorded an annual decline of this magnitude since the pandemic,” said Haider Tuaima, head of real estate research at ValuStrat, a Dubai-based consultancy which has been tracking the city’s property market since 2014.