The week-long Eid holidays affected sales in July, where the volume was 41.7 percent less than in June DUBAI: Residential property prices in Dubai accelerated in July, with villas recording the highest gains in six years, according to the latest ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) published this week. According to the report, villas, which represent 13 percent of the UAE emirate’s residential market, saw a 3.1 percent increase in VPI in July, compared to the month before. Apartments only edged 0.8 percent higher, the report showed. Overall, Dubai’s VPI, which is a valuation-based index, recorded a growth of 1.8 percent. These figures put the annual average per square foot of a residential property in Dubai at 1,012 dirhams this year, compared to 894 dirhams in 2020. The week-long Eid holidays affected sales in July, where the volume was 41.7 percent less than in June. Ready sales fell by 50 percent, while off-plan contract registrations were down by 30 percent. Most of the sales were from Emaar-developed properties at 20.4 percent, the report showed, with other top performing developers being Sobha and Nakheel. The VPI monitors 13 villa locations and 21 apartment areas in Dubai, and all of them have seen capital values stabilizing or improving in July – a movement which has not been seen in six years.