The innovations affected real estate transactions that foreign investors conducted with the help of third parties. Often, when selling an object, they could issue a power of attorney to a third party (an agent or a relative), which gave him the right to receive payments from buyers. Now this method is prohibited: funds from the sale of an asset must go to the bank account of its owner.
The new rules will affect several categories of owners. Firstly, non-residents who own real estate in Dubai but work remotely. Secondly, foreign sellers who use offshore or joint accounts or delegate authority to third parties.
Thus, investors will have to open an account with a local bank to carry out transactions. This will require a resident ID (Emirates-ID), which is issued only if you have a residence permit.
Regulation of real estate sales to foreigners is part of a set of measures to combat money laundering and suppress fraudulent schemes.
As a rule, foreigners invest in Dubai for passive income and capital gains.
The top 10 countries buying real estate in the UAE include (in ascending order): India, China, UK, Turkey, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, France, USA.
According to Property Finder, 2024 was a record year for the Dubai real estate market, with a total of 180,987 real estate sales and purchase transactions totaling AED 522.5 billion ($142.3 billion) – an increase in both the number (36.5%) and value (27.2%) of transactions compared to the previous market peak in 2023.
As Property Finder’s Chief Revenue Officer Sherif Sleiman noted, last year was a defining year for the UAE’s real estate sector thanks to a record number and value of transactions, and it looks like this situation will continue into 2025.
“This is an exciting time for the industry as Dubai’s under-construction real estate market continues to grow. In a market hungry for more trust and transparency, the recently launched Smart Rental Index from the Dubai Land Department is just one example of how the UAE is constantly striving to raise the bar,” he said.
Around 41,000 new housing units are expected to be delivered in 2025, but only around 5,000 of these will be villas and townhouses. This indicates a significant supply gap in this sector with high demand.
