During the two waves of COVID-19, wealthy Indians bought second houses in Dubai, mostly because of the country’s tax-friendly legislation and the possibility of obtaining instant resident status through real estate investments, as well as the international lifestyle and distance from Indian coastlines. Sanjay Dutt, a Bollywood actor, obtained his Golden Visa in May.
According to Mahmoud AlBurai, senior advisor to the Dubai government, the real estate market in Dubai has been booming for the past five months due to an influx of foreign investors, with Indians investing 6 billion dirhams (Rs 12,100 crore) compared to 2.9 billion dirhams by UK investors and 1.4 billion dirhams by Chinese investors. These sand castles aren’t cheap — they cost a lot of money.Several Indian billionaires have relocated to the city, which is only a short flight away from India. A minimum of one million dirhams must be invested in a property to qualify for a resident visa (Rs 2 crore). According to experts, this is less expensive than investing 500,000 euros (Rs 4.4 crore) in real estate to secure residency visas in Portugal and Spain.
The UAE’s Golden Visa programme, which provides international investors and elite talent with visas valid for up to ten years, has also contributed to the increase in numbers. Doctors, specialists, scientists, and innovators, as well as skilled creative and sporting personalities, as well as business, startup, and real estate investors in the emirate, are all eligible.
“Dubai’s real estate market performed well during the pandemic and attracted several Indian investors, owing to the government’s handling of the COVID-19 scenario. In the last five months, investment from both NRIs in the UAE and HNIs from India totaled over 6 billion dirhams,” said Akash Puri, Director International, India Sotheby’s International Realty.
In April, nearly 60% of sales were for secondary or ready-to-move-in residences, while 40% were for units that had not yet been completed. Puri added that in April, 1,934 under-construction properties worth $841 million and 2,898 ready-to-move-in properties worth $2.15 billion were sold. Every financial year, resident Indians are authorized to send up to $250,000 (Rs 1.85 crore) abroad.“Indians are eyeing houses in Dubai in greater numbers than ever before. “Since 2017, Indians have placed among the top nationalities investing in property in Dubai,” said Shajai Jacob, CEO-GCC, ANAROCK Property Consultants in Dubai.
Since January 2021, Dubai’s real estate market has been on an upward trend. Each of the last few months has been record-breaking in terms of real estate sales, he continued, from the vantage point of June 2021.Pre-leased hotel rooms, one- and two-bedroom apartments, and villas are among the options available to wealthy Indians. A hotel room that has been pre-leased might cost anything between Rs 70 lakh and Rs 3 crore.
According to Ritesh Mehta, head of residential property sales at JLL, aside from businesses, banking and financial services experts have expressed interest in purchasing houses in the Gulf.
