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A reduction of fees on the sale value from four per cent to two per cent for non-GCC purchasers has led to a significant increase of 32.5 per cent in the number of the sales sealed last year by non-GCC investors
Real estate transactions in Sharjah surged 5.1 per cent to 64,459 worth Dh15.9 billion during 2020 on the back of stimulus measures rolled out by the government to overcome the pandemic challenges.
Abdul Aziz Ahmed Al Shamsi, director-general of the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department, said the supportive efforts of the government through a series of incentives helped the real estate sector not only overcome the Covid-19 pandemic crisis but rather prosper and grow.
Al Shamsi said some of the premium real estate projects, comprising commercial and industrial projects, launched in 2020 had helped revive transactions despite the pandemic. He urged developers to study the realty market, and identify the needs of investors so that they can come up with appropriate and competitive products to suit customers’ tastes.
A reduction of fees on the sale value from four per cent to two per cent for non-GCC purchasers has led to a significant increase of 32.5 per cent in the number of the sales sealed last year by non-GCC investors.
“This decision, along with the latest stimulus package, has boosted the economy, and attracted direct foreign investments to the real estate sector.”
He said many of the department services were offered through electronic means while an advance-appointment system was activated for the transactions that require personal attendance. “Full attention was paid to sanitization and social distancing so that the workflow went uninterrupted. Investors, developers and all the different real estate parties were satisfied.”
Last year’s deals included 12,248 ownership deeds, 4,644 sales, 2,745 mortgage, and 39,444 ownership certificate transactions.
In the residential sector, 3,773 sales were recorded in 2020, in comparison to 3,328 transactions registered in 2019, representing a growth of 13.4 per cent. These covered a total area of 56 million square feet. Most of the sales were recorded in the city with 3,292 transactions valued at Dh4.6 billion. The transactions covered 100 areas, led by Hoshi and Al Khan that constituted 38.5 per cent of the total sales transactions sealed in the city.
Investors from 61 nationalities invested in the emirate in 2020, including 11,230 GCC and Emirati investors who traded 14,583 properties, worth Dh12.9 billion, and 2,189 foreign investors who traded 2,303 properties, worth Dh3 billion.
Residential properties constituted 75.3 per cent of the sales transactions sealed last year. These included 1,006 residential vacant lands, followed by 901 residential apartments, and 712 residential built-up lands.
Commercial properties ranked second with 11.1 per cent of the total properties traded last year, while industrial properties stood third with 10.4 per cent of the total deals. Agricultural properties recorded only 3.2 per cent of the total deals 2020 due to the ownership restrictions limited to the Emiratis Sharjah.
— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com
Issac John
Editorial Director of Khaleej Times, is a well-connected Indian journalist and an economic and financial commentator. He has been in the UAE’s mainstream journalism for 35 years, including 23 years with Khaleej Times. A post-graduate in English and graduate in economics, he has won over two dozen awards. Acclaimed for his authentic and insightful analysis of global and regional businesses and economic trends, he is respected for his astute understanding of the local business scene.
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