Dubai – Mubasher: Real estate developers in Dubai are expected to reduce the size of apartments in 2018, in a bid to decrease their prices, as affordability is still a priority for buyers, according to a report released by LuxHabitat.

This trend began to dominate in Dubai South, Dubailand, and Jumeirah Village Circle, Mario Volpi, Kensington Properties’ chief sales officer, told LuxHabitat.

"In my opinion, one of the trends for 2018 will be affordability, but affordability will have to come at a cost and I’m not referring to financial terms," Volpi added.

Buyers should focus on the location and the completion dates of their desired properties, while sellers should not make haste in selling their properties, given the expected drop in prices, Alexander von Sayn-Wittgenstein, luxury sales director, commented.

The decreasing prices trend in the real estate market will continue; however, it will be less sharp than the previous years, Paul Spargo, a commercial director at Propertyfinder, revealed.

“As we move into 2018, further inventory will float on to the market and provide even more attractive opportunities, piquing the interest of a larger base of consumers to start considering owning a home in the UAE,” Bayut’s CEO Haider Ali Khan concluded.