Dubai: Property transactions in Dubai recorded Dh36.99 billion in the first seven months from 18,168 deals, according to the Land Department. In July, with the market seeing a return in buying activity, there were 2,404 transactions and valued at Dh4.69 billion.

As has been apparent in recent months, the secondary market exceeded offplan sales in terms of sales volume. The other obvious trend these days is buyers’ preference for larger properties with more outside space.

During the lockdown, search and demand data showed that people started looking for bigger properties, shifting from the traditional small family apartments to villa/townhouses. The ‘search and demand’ data reveal this trend has grown significantly since the lockdown started and continues to have an effect on the market.

In July, the value of mortgages totalled Dh18.26 billion from 1,153 total transactions. In value terms, this is 3.09 times more compared to June and 3.36 times more compared to July 2019 levels.