Investors, mainly Arab and foreign nationals, poured Dh57 billion ($15.51 billion) into Dubai's real estate market in the first half of 2016, according to the Dubai Land Department's (DLD) transactions report. As many as 26,000 investors from 149 countries, with the majority being GCC nationals, invested in the Dubai market during the period, the report issued by the DLD's Real Estate Research and Studies Department said, according to a Wam news agency report. Sultan Butti Bin Merjen, director general of the DLD, said: "The Dubai real estate market has managed to maintain its robust appeal this year and is now emerging as one of the foremost property investment destinations in the world, bolstered by the decline in some regional economies and serious challenges faced by other countries around the globe." The report revealed that GCC citizens contributed Dh22 billion ($5.98 billion) to the Dubai property market from 8,000 transactions. Out of this, Emirati investment amounted to Dh14.523 billion ($3.95 billion) from 4,543 deals. Saudi citizens came in at second place with transactions reaching Dh4 billion originating from 1,946 investments. In the third place were Kuwaiti nationals with 743 investment transactions worth more than Dh1 billion, followed by nationals from Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Arab investors from outside the GCC contributed more than Dh7 billion to the real estate market in the first six months of 2016, with 7,577 transactions made by 16 different nationalities. DLD's report revealed that Jordanian investors were ranked first with 765 investments worth more than Dh1.5 billion. They were followed by Egyptian citizens who invested Dh1.37 billion stemming from 710 transactions and the Lebanese whose investments amounted more than Dh1 billion from 423 transactions. The total value of foreign investment in the Dubai real estate market reached more than Dh28 billion, drawn from 14,314 investments belonging to 149 nationalities. Indian nationals came in top of this investor field, making more than Dh7 billion worth of property transactions arising from 3,656 transactions. The British were listed second with a total of Dh4 billion worth of property transactions resulting from 2,010 deals, while Pakistani investments were third with Dh3 billion from 2,073 transactions. source: Trade Arabia
