Sharjah registers AED12.1bn real estate transactions in H1 2016

Sharjah / WAM

The total value of real estate investments implemented in the first six months of 2016 amounted to AED12.1 billion, while the total number of real estate transactions carried out by the department during the same period last year reached 25,474, Abdul Aziz Ahmed Al Shamsi, General Director of the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department, has revealed.
Al Shamsi indicated that May 2016 witnessed a record increase of 114 percent in the total volume of real estate trading, which stood at AED3.4 billion, compared with AED1.6 billion during the same period of 2015.
As many as 25,474 real estate transactions were executed during the first half of 2016, compared to 25,850 transactions in the same period last year. These included 14,411 ownership certificates transactions, 8,165 title deed transactions, 1,943 mortgage transactions and 955 valuation transactions, which showed a remarkable increase of 35.8 percent over the same period last year.
According to the first half data and statistics, there was a slight change in the number of transactions and trading volume, despite the continuing economic slowdown and political instability in the region in general, Al Shamsi said. This indicates that property prices have not changed substantially in comparison with the same period last year, creating a convenient atmosphere of confidence among
investors and owners.
The title deed transactions conducted in the first half of 2016 were classified under 21 types of transactions, most notably sorting transactions at 1,783, sales transactions at 1,860 and initial sales contracts at 1,236, with the rest varying between charitable donation transactions, absolute, limited or mortgage-based ownership transactions, and waiver, bequeathing, modification, installation (changing land use) and initial sales contract attestation transactions, among others.
It is noted that the charitable donation granted from the government and limited restricted ownership transactions rose from 20 in the first half of 2015 to 198 in the first half of 2016, up by 890 per cent, and so did the installation changing land use transactions, which surged by 1,200 percent to 208 in comparison with 16 only in the first half of 2015. Other kinds of transactions witnessed slight ups and downs with minor changes.
While 1,137 mortgage transactions were conducted in the first half of this year, up by 42.5 percent over the same period last year, redemption transactions rose to 306, up by 30.2 percent, and mortgage-increase transactions fell by 57.5 percent to 500, over the same period of 2015.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,860 sales transactions were conducted in the Emirate of Sharjah, including 1,665 transactions in Sharjah City, accounting for 89.5 percent of the total transactions.
These sales transactions covered 102 areas in Sharjah City, with Al Khan maintaining its lead with 240 sales transactions, followed by Al Majaz 3 with 173, Sajaa Industrial Area with 159, Al Nahda with 111, and Muwaileh Commercial District with 105 transactions. The remaining 877 transactions were carried out in other areas in the city.
In Khorfakkan and Dibba Al Hisn, some 95 sales transactions were conducted in 19 areas, led by Khorfakkan’s Al Haray Commercial Area with 23, followed by Al Haray Industrial Area with 16, and Al Bardi 2 with 12 transactions.
As for Kalba, 100 sales transactions were accomplished, including 24 in Kalba Industrial Area and 19 in Sour Kalba Commercial Area. The remaining transactions were conducted in 20 other areas in the city.
Residential areas accounted for the majority of sales transactions implemented in the first half of 2016. As many as 1,048 transactions were conducted in the residential sector, accounting for 56.3 percent, compared to 405 in commercial areas accounting for 21.7 percent, 358 in industrial areas accounting for 19.2 percent, and 49 in agricultural areas accounting for 2.6 percent.
As far as the classification of traded land and property is concerned, a total area of approximately 39.2 million square feet was sold, including idle and built-up land plots. The idle industrial land that was sold spanned an area of 12.6 million square feet and comprised 262 real estates, while the built-up industrial land covered 2.3 million square feet, encompassing 96 real estates.
Some 278 real estates of idle commercial lands spanning a total area of 1.9 million square feet were sold, whereas the real estates of built-up commercial lands totalled 108 and covered an area of 643,000 square feet.
As many as 198 real estates of idle residential land plots, occupying an area of 9.2 million square feet, were sold, as compared to 281 real estates of built-up land plots with an area of 2.7 million square feet. The total area of traded agricultural land was 9.1 million square feet and comprised 49 land plots.
As many as 405 apartments with a total area of 525,000 square feet were traded during the first half of 2016, and so were 175 residential parking lots covering an area of 24,000 square feet. The remaining 26 real estates, covering a total area of 14,000 square feet, varied between residential studios, shops, offices and warehouses.
Al Shamsi revealed that during the first six months of 2016, the number of GCC traders in the emirate reached 4,342 buyers, including 3,953 UAE nationals, accounting for 91 per cent of GCC traders, 5 percent less than the first half of last year. Kuwaiti investors came next with 196 buyers accounting for 4.5 percent, followed by Saudis with 88 accounting for 2 percent, Qataris with 56 investors accounting for 1.3 percent, and finally Omanis and Bahrainis, with 23 and 26 buyers, respectively.
As many as 5,323 real estate units were traded by GCC citizens during the first half of 2016. Some 4,497 real estate units were traded by UAE nationals, as compared to 4,390 real estate units in the same period last year, up by 2.4 per cent, whereas 561 real estate units were traded by Kuwaitis in the first half of 2016, compared to 297 last year, up by 88.9 per cent. In contrast, the real estate units traded by Saudis dropped to 151, while those traded by Qataris, Bahrainis and Omanis fell to 57, 36 and 21, respectively.
At the Arab level , the number of Arab non-GCC traders numbered 524, led by Syrians (109), while Jordanians came in the second place with 90, followed by Palestinians (64), Iraqis (60) and Yemenis, Egyptians, Lebanese and Algerians, though in smaller numbers.
Non-GCC Arabs purchased 993 real estate units in the first half of 2016, compared with 957 in the same period of 2015, up 3.8 percent. Palestinians topped the list of Arab non-GCC traders with 463 real estate units, followed by Syrians with 153, and other Arab nationalities with varying transactions.
As part of its plan to promote its e-services, particularly its electronic linkage system launched in 2014 to broaden the base of beneficiaries from its services and save their time and effort, the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department issued 3,843 electronic property inquiry certificates during the first half of the year. These included 2,271 certificates for the Ministry of Social Affairs, 2,012 certificates for Sharjah Directorate of Housing, 359 certificates for Sharjah Department of Social Services and 11 certificates for Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme.
By issuing the above mentioned certificates electronically through the electronic system that provides real estate data inquiry service to Sharjah beneficiaries, the department helped save the effort of its employees on the one hand, and the time of its individual and corporate clients on the other, towards the provision of the best services to UAE citizens.