Indians among top property buyers in Dubai

 Indians constitute a dominating group while buying real estate in Dubai, having invested
nearly AED 10.5 billion during the first half of this year,
says a report.
    Between January and June 2014, Indians, British,
Pakistanis and GCC investors accounted for around four-fifths
of all real estate transactions in Dubai.

    Property consultant Knight Frank, citing data from Dubai
Land Department, said in the first half of 2014, a number of
key nationalities including India dominated real estate
investment activity in the emirate.
    During January-June 2014, Indians invested close to AED
10.5 billion in the emirate, while British and Pakistani
nationals spent AED 5.8 billion and AED 4.5 billion,
respectively.
    Meanwhile, UAE nationals purchased AED 12.6 billion worth
of property in H1 2014 -- almost double the amount spent by
Saudis (AED 3.4 billion), Qataris (AED 1.5 billion), Kuwaitis
(AED 839 million), Omanis (AED 482 million) and Bahrainis (AED
247 million) combined.
    Overall, the total amount invested in the emirate's
property market in the first half of 2014 was AED 50 billion,
equivalent to 44 per cent of the sum spent in 2013 as a whole,
suggesting that, by last year's standards, real estate
investment activity has softened in the first half of 2014.
    However, the mainstream residential market is
outperforming the prime segment in Dubai, mainly because these
segments are very popular among western expatriates and
continue to see healthy demand, Knight Frank, in its Autumn
2014 Dubai Residential Insight Report said.
    Secondly, the new mortgage caps had a lesser impact on
the mainstream segment and demand situation continued to be
robust because of Dubai's strong economic conditions and
buoyant labour market.
     "We expect demand to outstrip supply in the short-term,"
the report said, adding that "the mainstream residential
segment is anticipated to outperform prime over the next 12
months"