UAE - Mubasher: The number of residential unit transactions in Dubai dipped by 40% year-on-year (YoY) to 5,233 during the second quarter (Q2) of 2020, when compared to the same period of 2019.

The decline in Dubai's residential transactions is attributed to the preventive measures to curb coronavirus (COVID-19), which sharply affected the sales activity in April and May, according to the Dubai Residential Report Q2 from Chestertons, an international residential property specialist.

On a quarterly basis, the number of sold residential units plunged by 45% in Q2-20, when compared to the first quarter (Q1) of 2020.

However, Dubai's real estate sector saw a rise in the number of sales to 2,121 in June, compared to 1,739 in April and 1,373 in May, reflecting positive signs of the sector's recovery.

Due to the unstable market amid COVID-19, developers have stopped launching new projects during Q2, leading to a decline in the number of total off-plan sales to 4,458 in the first half (H1) of 2020 compared to 12,222 in H1 2019.

At the same time, the rental rates dropped by 3.9% and 2.6% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) for apartments and villas, respectively.

Commenting on the performance of Dubai's real estate sector, the head of Strategic Consultancy at Chestertons MENA, Chris Hobden, said: "While we expect residential prices and rents to decline further over the second half of 2020 - a result of challenging economic conditions and a declining expatriate population - there are positives to draw from Q2 that will support Dubai’s residential sector moving forward."