Dubai to see up to 16,000 more property units in 2012

Dubai's property sector will




see up to 16,000 new units come on the market this year, the



head of its real estate watchdog said on Wednesday, adding



further pressure to an already oversupplied sector.



Supply in 2012 will be higher than in 2011 when about 10,700



new units were introduced.



"Another 15,000 to 16,000 (units) are coming in 2012,"



Marwan bin Ghalitha, chief executive of Real Estate Regulatory



Authority said at a conference. "Most of this supply will be



from master developers.



"About 62 projects were completed last year. I am sure the



supply from these projects are coming in 2012."



He said that 220 projects are now under construction in



Dubai.



Dubai's property sector has been hard hit by the global



economic downturn that began in 2008, with billions of dollars



worth of projects put on hold or cancelled while property prices



slumped as much as 60 percent.



High-profile projects put on hold or cancelled include Dubai



Properties' Tiger Woods residential and golf course project and



developer Nakheel's kilometre-high tower.



Ghalitha said the value of transactions for land, villas and



apartments rose 20 percent in 2011 to 143 billion dirhams



compared to 120 billion dirhams in 2010.



"There is still a lot of demand for real estate in Dubai but



its selective long-term projects," said Galitha.



Dubai house prices are expected to fall by 5 percent in



2012, after having fallen by two-third from its peak in 2008, a



Reuters poll showed last month.