Buying frenzy: UAE’s Aldar villas sold out in 48 hours; Emaar sales hit $1.6bln in 3 months

Buying frenzy: UAE’s Aldar villas sold out in 48 hours; Emaar sales hit $1.6bln in 3 months

In Dubai, Emaar Properties confirmed on Tuesday that its first-quarter sales reached six billion dirhams ($1.63 billion), eclipsing the sales of 2.5 billion dirhams a year earlier. High investor interest Interest in the UAE's residential property market has surged in recent months, with the demand buoyed by lower prices, a strong preference towards home ownership amid the COVID-19 pandemic and an improvement in sentiments due to massive vaccination campaigns.  “Coming out of lockdown so quickly, the investment in vaccines and testing, mixed with the city not being straddled with debts to pay back in the future has created a firm foothold for Dubai's continued growth… This has encouraged many expats already residing in the city to buy homes here and invest in their future,” said Lewis Allsopp, CEO of Allsopp & Allsopp. “I believe there will be many people moving to Dubai over the next few years to leave their home countries, due to the rise in interest rates,” he added. Busy days Data from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) showed that on busiest days, buyers snap up properties worth a total of more than one billion dirhams in less than 24 hours. On Monday alone, Dubai recorded 1.5 billion dirhams in transactions. In the