Dubai house prices were up 1 percent in the second quarter of 2021 128 sales of homes worth over $5.45 million in the first half of 2021 DUBAI: Egyptians have been the biggest winners when it comes to buying property in Dubai over the last few years when currency fluctuations are taken into account, according to research by real estate consultancy Knight Frank. While the overall Dubai market is 26.3 percent down from its peak, house prices were up 1 percent in the emirate during the second quarter of 2021, the report said. That’s the biggest quarterly gain since the summer of 2014, according to Reuters. However, the value of properties over the last six years differs depending on the nationality of buyers, or the currency they paid in, with Egyptians and Pakistanis the big winners and Europeans and Jordanians the biggest losers. “Egyptian pound purchasers for instance have seen their investments appreciate by an impressive 51.4 percent, while Pakistani rupee buyers are currently enjoying gains of over 12 percent,” Faisal Durrani, partner and head of Middle East research at Knight Frank, said in a press statement of the valuations for different currency buyers compared to 2015. “And if we rewind further back in time to the heady days of 2007, Egyptian and Pakistani buyers would have seen their investments increase in value by a staggering 200 percent plus,” he said. “European buyers meanwhile would be looking at gains of 20.5 percent since 2007, while for British buyers, it would be nearer 68 percent. The flipside to the story is of course some of those who held off, or were unable to step onto the property ladder, relative prices are much more attractive today than they were in 2015.” Knight Frank’s research found that for euro buyers a home in Dubai is now 32.3 percent cheaper than in 2015, followed by British sterling (19 percent cheaper) and Indian rupee buyers (14 percent cheaper). Earlier this week, the UAE press was awash with reports of a $30 million sale of a villa on Palm Jumeirah, the most expensive ever sold on the manmade island. Moreover, research by Knight Frank showed there has been an increase in sales of high-end luxury homes in Dubai. The data showed there were 128 sales of homes worth over 20 million dirhams ($5.45 million) in the first half of 2021, the highest level since 2015 when 137 deals were recorded and compared with just 75 last year and 71 in 2019. “Rather than subdue super prime sales activity, the pandemic has accelerated it,” Durrani said. “Families are looking for larger homes, with more outdoor space and even room for a home office as many are hedging their bets on greater remote working going forward, echoing what we have been seeing elsewhere in the world. And what’s more, they are willing to spend more for the privilege.”