Russian investors cautiously optimistic on Dubai property

Russian interest in Dubai’s property market appears to be on the upswing as the ruble gains strength against the dollar, with investors trickling back into the emirate after a year-long absence.

The Dubai Land Department’s annual report released this week puts Russians among the top 10 foreign investors in the emirate’s real estate sector, as foreign investment in 2016 neared AED 44 billion from 22,834 investors of 136 nationalities.

“With the (UAE) dirham maintaining a fixed peg to the US dollar, the ability of Russian buyers to access the property market has been prone to the ebbs and flows of currency fluctuations,” Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, told Argaam.

Over the past one year the ruble has stabilized, with the exchange currently at an approximate 60 rubles to a dollar, from the mid-2015 lows of 50 rubles.

However, the general global economic anxiety and nervousness around job security has pushed buyers and investors around the world in to a more cautious mindset, Durrani said, noting that has been the case with Russian investors as well.

A study conducted by online classified and property listing platform dubizzle, in partnership with consultancy JLL, showed that Russian buyers, who accounted for 5 percent of all transactions on the website in 2014 have since fallen to less than 1 percent.

“Russian investors typically search for real estate in the UAE on Russian sites in the Russian language, or directly through Russian agents for ease of conversing and familiarity of culture. Hence on dubizzle this nationality demographic has not appeared as one of our top property seekers,” Ann Boothello, senior product marketing manager (property) at dubizzle, told Argaam.

While waterfront properties in Dubai remain the main draw for investors, off late, mid-scale projects have seen growing interest – indicating a “risk-adverse pattern from our Russian investors,” Durrani said.

Old favorites, like Jumeirah Beach Residence, that have performed well for the investors in the past – in terms of both capital growth and return on investment – are still on the radar. However, lower priced ready investment options like Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), Dubai Silicon Oasis, Sports City have attracted multi-unit portfolio additions, he added.

“Dubizzle search volume data highlights an increased popularity among online property buyers in more affordable and mid-market communities like Al Furjan, JVC, Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) and Sports City,” Boothello said.

“JVC received 9.7 million searches for properties by dubizzle property seekers in Q3-2016 alone,” she added.

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com