An off-plan five-bedroom apartment spanning 24,000 square feet in Omniyat’s One Palm, worth AED74 million is the most expensive property sold so far in 2019.

That is according to Property Finder, the MENA region’s leading property portal.

In second place is an Emirates Hills six-bedroom villa spanning 17,800 square feet that fetched AED64 million on the secondary market.

And in third place is a five-bedroom Garden Home villa on the Palm Jumeirah’s Fronds, which sold on the secondary market for AED51 million.

In 2018, the most expensive property sold was an Emirates Hills villa on the secondary market for a whopping AED90 million.

Buyers seem to have a bigger inclination for off-plan super-luxury properties versus the secondary market, going by Dubai Land Department statistics for 2019.

“As property prices decline, both in the secondary and off-plan markets coupled with motivated developers offering many different types of incentives, we are seeing more interest in luxury properties, especially from non-residents.

“In addition, we are also seeing an increase in enquiries for mortgages from non-residents,” said Lynnette Abad, director of research and data, Property Finder.

Other properties that figured in the top five costliest property transactions in 2019 are a AED43.5 million five-bedroom off-plan Il Primo apartment in Opera District, Downtown Dubai, and a AED43 million four-bedroom off-plan apartment at the Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences.

Emaar’s Il Primo tower is witnessing good demand, with another five-bedroom off-plan apartment fetching AED42.9 million.

Apartments in this under-construction project with views of the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain are seeing robust sales around the AED40 million mark.

Palm Jumeirah

Meanwhile, the Palm Jumeirah is the hub of most transactions in the AED20 million club.

In the off-plan space, projects like the Alef Residences, XX11 Carat, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray and Bulgari Resort & Residences are fetching over AED20 million for an individual unit sale.

In the secondary market, villas on the Palm Jumeirah Fronds continue to dominate.

The average transacted price of a Garden Homes villa on the Palm this year is AED11.18 million.

This is 38 per cent cheaper than the average transaction price (AED17.89 million) of these units in 2017, according to the research and data team at Property Finder.

Jumeirah Golf Estates and Emirates Hills are also seeing some big-ticket transactions in the secondary market worth AED20 million.

“Properties which were once considered overpriced have become more attractive as prices declined, therefore we are seeing enquiries increase in the more established, prominent and popular areas,” adds Abad.