Dubai Prices Fall 8% in Fourth Quarter of 2008

Housing prices in Dubai fell eight percent in the final quarter of 2008 according to property consultants Colliers International in its latest quarterly report for the emirate. Year on year prices for the quarter were 59 percent higher than in 2007, and the fall in prices was the first for the year.

 

For the whole year, housing prices increased 42 percent in the first quarter of 2008, 16 percent in the second and 5 percent in the third, according to Colliers. Additionally, transaction volume for the fourth quarter fell 45 percent when compared to the third quarter.

 

With the global financial crisis in full swing, demand for property fell and credit tightened considerably. Ian Albert, regional director for Colliers International noted that “There is no escaping the fact that for the first time since the HPI was launched, overall average residential prices in Dubai have fallen.”