Plano, TX · Member since 2017 · 19 posts · 4 votes
I am a USA citizen and do not have much knowledge or trips to Dubai, but interested in investing in Dubai Real estate.
CAn some one shed me some lights on how foreigner can invest in Duabi, which firms that I can go through, who are reliable and keep my investment safe and able to get some decent returns, and what are the tax consequences for earning potential from outside the country?
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
9y
Dubai is the highest volatility market i have come across as an investor. This means it can be very profitable if you buy at the right time, but can be brutal if you buy at a peak. The markets offer low to medium gross yields that max out around 7% if you buy in todays market. This is significantly lower than the mid west in the US.
A really nice thing over there is that rents are often payed once per year.
Dubai have a very consentrated power and decision organ which leads to very low predictability. Its awesome to see how fast Dubai is changing, but in real estate investing you want slow and steady. I admire the rulers of Dubai for their vision and ability to put those into life. But it make it hard to predict the future. For that reason my money is elsewhere.
You are almost never alowed to do your own renovations, and have to pay an application fee to get approval to do work on your rental. The labor is cheap but is usually terrible quality.
You have very little insight into the governments plans for development and i have seen that have amazing impact on some areas and terrible impact on others.
If you are going through with the purchase i wish you good luck and urge you to consider traffic patterns. Traffic is horrible at peak our in certain areas and you will do well to look into that.
Last i want to say that i have not really seen rents fall significantly in many markets, but in dubai i see it frequently. So buy with good margin for reduced income.
@Charles Rosenbaum can you please elaborate on why you say its considered one of the safest places to invest? My current understanding of the market make me disagree completely with that statement, so what have i missed?
Dubai, Dubai · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 3 votes
9y
Sonu
I have lived in Final for 6 years. I may be able to provide you with some information.
What type of investments are you looking for? Dubai is considered one of the safest places to invest. That does not mean there aren't issues to consider.
Investor · Spokane WA · Member since 2015 · 88 posts · 49 votes
9y
@Sonu Sundar - I evaluated Dubai real estate investment last year, as the cash flow seemed reasonable, and the appreciation potential looks significant. However, required downpayments were typically 40-50%, and would be difficult without a residency visa. When I ran the numbers compared to US real estate, the added leverage potential here meant that it was not worth the additional hassle to continue investigating Dubai.
@Charles Rosenbaum - I would love to hear if you've found something that would prove my assumptions wrong!
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
9y
Dubai is the highest volatility market i have come across as an investor. This means it can be very profitable if you buy at the right time, but can be brutal if you buy at a peak. The markets offer low to medium gross yields that max out around 7% if you buy in todays market. This is significantly lower than the mid west in the US.
A really nice thing over there is that rents are often payed once per year.
Dubai have a very consentrated power and decision organ which leads to very low predictability. Its awesome to see how fast Dubai is changing, but in real estate investing you want slow and steady. I admire the rulers of Dubai for their vision and ability to put those into life. But it make it hard to predict the future. For that reason my money is elsewhere.
You are almost never alowed to do your own renovations, and have to pay an application fee to get approval to do work on your rental. The labor is cheap but is usually terrible quality.
You have very little insight into the governments plans for development and i have seen that have amazing impact on some areas and terrible impact on others.
If you are going through with the purchase i wish you good luck and urge you to consider traffic patterns. Traffic is horrible at peak our in certain areas and you will do well to look into that.
Last i want to say that i have not really seen rents fall significantly in many markets, but in dubai i see it frequently. So buy with good margin for reduced income.
@Charles Rosenbaum can you please elaborate on why you say its considered one of the safest places to invest? My current understanding of the market make me disagree completely with that statement, so what have i missed?
At the moment dubai properties are at an ideal time to buy .Market has dipped 35% since peak in 2013. Due to the expo coming there is very good potential. The ROI is 9 to 10% net. No property taxes.No rental taxes
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
7y
Dubai is still faced with an extreme oversupply of apartments. Too many new builds and not enough new people coming in. Rents will continue to fall and property prices will still fall for as long as this remains true. There are no indications that this will change anytime soon either.
I love Dubai and I will continue to live here for many years to come, but the developers need to be slowed down
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
7y
There are no taxes, but there are still fees which work just like taxes. Also, expo 2020 will be cool but what happens after? I don’t think this will impact the city in a lasting way.
I agree Morgan . This is actually a very good opportunity to buy apartments in dubai marina. Old town. Jumeirah beach residence. Actually buying these apartments and not the current supply is a good opportunity. What do you think
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
7y
Dubais real estate market move faster than any market I’m aware of. So if you can time the market right, you can see appreciation here that you can’t find elsewhere.
Dubai is a very transitory place where expats move in and out of, and this means lots of motivated sellers. Finding deals at good discounts is often easy.
Labor is also cheap here.
If I was living in America, I wouldn’t bother with Dubai. I’m Norwegian, I live in Dubai but I still prefer to invest in USA.
Rental Property Investor · NC, IL · Member since 2018 · 86 posts · 47 votes
6y
@Morgan Nilsen I agree investing in the US probably has a better cash flow potential but I think Dubai might have a decent appreciation. What areas do you think would be good to look at? I see some things around and I really like Dubai Marina and Creek areas but I really only have vacation time there, I havent lived there.
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
6y
Well the Dubai market has fallen by more than 30% in rents and appreciation and its fallen every year for some time now. That’s a major concern. Tough to say how low it will go. The city is in a desert so they have lots of space to build on, and the current problem is oversupply. If you could see that the population growth was increasing, then you could invest with some security.
Another wildcard is that the tax office opened in The UAE a year ago. There is no current tax on rental income and capital gains. This could be added at some point. And that will hurt the bottom line.
There is a war brewing very near, and since Dubai is a luxury market, it is likely to get affected more by a recession than other markets. As when people lose their jobs, the vacations they take is the first choice to cut back on.
I personally see several issues with investing in Dubai real estate right now. But I know that the leaders are working on plans to fix it and they are very skilled and effective. Dubai will become a great place to invest again, but I personally think it will take some time. I know many people that have suffered big losses recently, but I also know many people that have enjoyed big successes in Dubai real estate.
Obviously Dubai is a incredible city to visit and it will remain as the center of the middle east. Long term thus city will work out its issues. But rule number 1 and 2 in investing is don’t lose money. And investing into a correction with no information about where the bottom is, well let’s just say it’s not my cup of tea
New to Real Estate · Midwest · Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 2 votes
6y
I love to visit Dubai but looking at most of the apartments I am interested in I think there will be a dip after the 2020 expo. As mentioned above what happens after that? I am thinking there will be some decent deals during the expo and there will likely be more events to draw people to Dubai in the future but I will be interested to see what the market does after the expo. I remember there being some very nice deals on 08AUG they like the number 8. It might be worth waiting to see what pops up again in Aug of 20.
Hi i have lived in Dubai for 10 years and the benefit now is to buy in 5 areas being Dubai Marina which cant be replaced it is on the sea .Apartments in OLD TOWN this is right by the burj khalifa ,there cant be another burj khalifa.Palm Jumeirah there cant be another . Dubai has no taxes .You can make very good money doing Airbnb.I know property managers who can manage the properties for 4% per annum . If anyone needs the right people to deal with i can put you on.
What is your opinion with the Dubai market at the moment . I have been offered studio apartments in Discovery Gardens for AED 280000.00 is that a good deal .
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
6y
@Ziyad Mohammed In my opinion, Dubai isn't one market, but instead many. Different areas have different metrics that decide how well they are doing. As far as studios go, 280K is a low price, but without knowing the expenses and the rent you can expect there, its tough to say if the deal is good or not. You will have to do some more digging for information. You can probably find info about rents on dubizzle.com, but you will have to dig some more to find the expenses.
My prediction for the Dubai market is that it will continue to correct further for the foreseeable future. I dont see any reason why the market would go up with the number of new buildings they are putting into the city as well as factors mentioned above. But dubai is a city full of opportunities so dont base your decision purely on my thoughts.
Real Estate Agent · Dubai, UAE · Member since 2020 · 41 posts · 4 votes
6y
Now is the best time to invest in rental properties in Dubai. It’s is best to invest in short holiday rentals , there is always high demand for this kind of apparent
@Morgan Nilsen I agree investing in the US probably has a better cash flow potential but I think Dubai might have a decent appreciation. What areas do you think would be good to look at? I see some things around and I really like Dubai Marina and Creek areas but I really only have vacation time there, I havent lived there.
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
6y
@Anthony Saheed I would advise you to be very careful to recommend people to speculate in volatile real estate markets. Investing is different from speculating, in that it’s data driven and therefor predictable and you have factors that play in that covers your downside and strengthen your chance of upside.
Last time I checked Dubai has an increasing oversupply of properties due to overbuilding. This forces prices down long term. Has this changed? I don’t think so, but I’m interested in seeing the evidence if you can produce any.
In my opinion, Dubai has shown itself to be very unpredictable due to its fast growth. It goes up fast, but down equally fast. And the changes, such as regulation, city development, traffic flow, building views etc happen very quickly.
Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
5y
Great Thread. Thanks for the info @Morgan Nilsen. What are your thoughts on the market now, post-covid and with rentals/prices at a significantly reduce price from last year? (they're actually starting to slightly pickup). Do you think it's a good time to buy given all the regional changes Dubai is going through? (e.g. peace w/ Israel, gambling legalization, etc.)
Rental Property Investor · Sandefjord, Norway · Member since 2015 · 202 posts · 87 votes
5y
@Georges A. Dubai is a dynamic city with great potential for growth. But Dubai is a volatile market when it comes to real estate. Very tough to make any predictions. Despite the fact that the market has dropped significantly both in rent and price, I still think the market should be considered high risk/high reward. It possible that the market will stay low for a long time. Just because it’s come down does not it will bounce back automatically in a timely fashion. This market is best suitable for a gambler in my opinion
Rental Property Investor · Madrid, Spain · Member since 2014 · 134 posts · 18 votes
5y
Totally agree. Looking at the numbers today (keep me honest), I believe you can still find deals with 5-6% yield (current rental state) and hope that it goes up. I just don't see it going down significantly more than the current state... but again who knows.. it's Dubai like you said
The UAE has been recognized many times as one of the most economically stable countries in the world. This allows investors to choose the most profitable and profitable areas for investment. Even in 2020, the Dubai real estate market has shown steady growth. The real estate market in Dubai has many advantages, the key one being stability. In recent years, mane good real estate agencies have appeared on the Dubai real estate market, for example: the real estate agency https://www.axcapital.ae/ Experts who can advise you in investment in real estate in Dubai. Also, Dubai offers very good living conditions for expats.
Rental Property Investor · TX · Member since 2021 · 3 posts · 0 votes
4y
Thanks to everyone who posted their valuable perspectives here which has made this thread so amazing to read right from 2017 till Oct 2021. I was requesting to know how things look like in Dubai, now in June 2022? I was fascinated with the pace of different technology projects taking root in Dubai in 2019 and that is when I was looking into Marina and JLT areas. Then Pandemic and life took its toll and everything stopped in it's tracks. But now again I am curious as to what "on the ground" news is? On propertyfinder.ae (non-mobile version) in the price graphs for areas like JLT, Marina from May 2021 I see price/sqft appreciating from 12 to 14%. Is this really true?
How is the market in Dubai for smaller real estate footprints like studio or 1 bedroom apartments? From a buy to rent perspective, in Dubai is that a good strategy. It works in the Central Business Districts of other global metropolitan cities with busy CBDs.
Forgive me kind folks here for the many questions, I consider myself a newbie and believe that even if my questions are basic and many, I persevere and try to know from resources and of course great folks like you all here to grow and learn to make the right decisions. Patiently waiting to hear from the great minds here.