It’s been a few years that
This however is not necessarily a new trend. Investing in Dubai has always had incentives for Indians.
For starters, the city has welcomed Indians with open arms. Accounting for nearly half of the emirate’s rising population, Indians hardly feel away from home while in Dubai. With countless restaurants and eateries serving scrumptious Indian cuisines and daily interactions with people from back home, Dubai is thus the ideal choice for Indians that leave home to earn a better living.
Plus, it’s hard to ignore the remarkable facilities and infrastructure Dubai has on offer that make investing in the city an easy decision.
The numbers back these up too.
Like 2014, Indians topped the list of foreign investors in Dubai’s real estate market in 2015 as well. Indians poured in a cool AED 20 billion (₹370 billion) buying properties across the emirate. The figure showed a 10 percent growth over the previous year’s investment, depicting a continued interest of Indians in the sector despite talks of slowdown.
But the interest is not surprising, as apartments in Dubai are offering rental returns of up to 8 percent in certain localities, according to UAE property portal Bayut.com. The website said its study had found rents for studio apartments in Dubai yielding 7 percent on an average in December 2015.
These rental yields are far higher than those earned by prime properties around the world. For example, rental yields in London are at best 4 percent for properties that cost millions more than similar estates in Dubai. So the leaning towards investment in Dubai becomes rather obvious. And apart from the financial advantages, investment in the real estate sector of Dubai is a pretty straight forward and hassle-free process, making it all the more attractive.
Considering the lucrative rental yields apartments in Dubai offer, it comes as no surprise that most Indian investors want a piece of the segment’s action. Bayut.com further revealed that more than half (60%) of all leads generated by Indians in 2015 were dedicated to properties up for sale. Within the leads for on-sale properties, a massive 82 percent related to apartments. On the other hand, villas up for sale managed to generate only 8 percent leads from prospective Indian investors, showing a clear preference for apartments.
The website said the most favourite apartment buying localities for Indian investors were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), Business Bay and International City, in that order. The results depict the diversity of Indian investors, as the localities highlighted by the website include the most expensive (Downtown) as well as one of the least expensive areas (International City) for buying apartments in the city.
To conclude, Dubai’s rising status as a global financial, investment and tourism hub are creating opportunities for professionals, businesses and investors alike. The city is fast reinforcing its place as the ideal bridge between the west and east and has capabilities and infrastructure to match its claims. And with Expo 2020 set to change its fortunes forever, the sky no more seems a limit for Dubai.
(This article has been written with inputs from Bayut.com)
Image credit: Indiatimes