SALES of homes worth US$25 million or more doubled in Dubai last year after some of the world’s wealthiest people snapped up homes in the Middle East’s business and tourism hub, according to property consultant Knight Frank.

A total of 56 ultra-luxury homes worth US$2.27 billion were sold in the city in 2023, up from 28 properties worth US$1.24 billion a year earlier.

Most of those properties, 22, were on Dubai’s man-made palm-shaped Palm Jumeirah island and 15 were on the seahorse-shaped Jumeirah Bay island.

Demand for Dubai property is booming as the government’s handling of the pandemic and its liberal visa policies attract more foreigners.

The luxury end of the market is also benefiting from an influx of investors such as Russians seeking to shield their assets, crypto millionaires, and rich Indians setting up second homes.

“The global super rich continue zero in on Dubai, with the city’s lifestyle and relatively affordable luxury homes being the top pull factors,” said Faisal Durrani, head of Middle East research at Knight Frank.

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“There is also an element of a pooling of global wealth in Dubai, which is helping push the emirate to a state of critical mass, which itself has become a new magnet for the global elite.”

Buyers from new locations such as Monaco are now “joining the capital train to Dubai, alongside a rising tide of interest from China,” Durrani said.

The most expensive transaction in 2023 was for a five-bedroom apartment in the Como Residences development, a yet-to-be built tower on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah.

The 21,949 square-foot (2,039 square-metre) apartment was sold for US$136.2 million, according to Knight Frank.

The ultra-luxury sector is a relatively new phenomenon in Dubai. Before 2021, a maximum of four homes worth US$25 million or more were sold in any given year.

Developers are now expanding their portfolio, but the availability of supply in the most desirable locations could become more constrained, Durrani said. BLOOMBERG