By Deepthi Nair , Khaleej Times

Off-plan transactions in Dubai are down 30 per cent year to date compared to the corresponding period last year, according to figures released by GCP-Reidin, a consultancy.



April saw 1,446 off-plan transactions, which was a significant improvement over the 1,302 deals in March 2018. These transactions were driven by Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Creek Harbour, Jumeirah Village Circle and Dubai World Central (formerly Dubai South). However, off-plan sales in Meydan are up a whopping 885 per cent year to date, primarily driven by the Azizi projects Riviera and Victoria.



In all, 6,086 off-plan transactions were registered between January to April 2018, compared to 8,736 transactions in the comparable period last year.





In terms of value, off-plan sales registered a steeper decline of 40 per cent at an estimated Dh7.9 billion in the period from January to April 2018. This compares to off-plan transactions worth Dh13.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2017.



A first-quarter drop-off in off-plan launches was expected after what was an exceptional run of launches in 2017. Developers offered incentives such as post-handover payment plans and waiver of DLd registration fees to attract buyers. The lack of an extension of post-handover payment plans and other incentives seems to be impacting off-plan demand this year.



