Qatari investors based in Dubai are rushing to sell their properties at steep discounts before the Monday deadline to leave the country amidst the ongoing Gulf crisis.
Due to the escalating diplomatic crisis, Qatari citizens in the United Arab Emirates were given 14 days to leave UAE on June 5, while the government said that Qatari citizens outside the UAE would not be allowed to enter the country.
Property brokers are saying that Qataris are selling their property portfolios worth millions of dirhams as they rush to liquidate their assets and leave.
Mario Volpi, chief sales officer at Kensington Exclusive Properties, said, “It is an extremely difficult time for many of our Qatari clients. We had one guy who managed to sell everything – some town houses in JVC, a plot of land in Dubailand, some commercial units in the Marina and a full building.”
He added, “He managed to sell the lot in just a couple of days at probably around 20 per cent below market price, but we have at least two other clients who are trying to sell and can’t.”
Nick Grassick, managing director of Dubai-based broker PH Real Estate, said, “We are currently working with a number of Qatari sellers and landlords. As a result of the current situation, some of our clients have either reduced their asking prices or have agreed to a recommended marketing strategy which is more attractive to tenants or buyers.”
“Those with smaller units, which can be sold fast, have managed to sell at between 5 and 10 per cent below market prices. But of course the bigger assets are not that liquid.”
However, the number of Qataris who own property in Dubai is not a significant proportion of the market.
The record of Dubai Land Department shows that in 2015 Qataris invested AED2.8 billion in Dubai property through 799 transactions, comprising 2 per cent of the total AED135 billion transacted that year. In 2016, nationals from Qatar and Kuwait combined invested nearly AED2 billion in Dubai property – 0.78 per cent of the total transacted, with Qataris accounting for 1,006 transactions.
