Dubai market 'may have hit bottom'

Dubai's property market may have hit the bottom, it has been suggested.

Evidence has emerged that the emirate saw a smaller fall in prices and rents in the second quarter of 2009, with villas down 13 per cent and apartments 15 per cent, property firm Asteco reported.

The study found that not only was the decline less than the first quarter, but that buyers have been differentiating between various locations.

As a result, places such as the Palm Jumeirah development have bounced back after significant losses in the final quarter of 2008 with a 20 per cent rise in villas and seven per cent for apartments in the second three-month period of this year.

Such a situation may offer investors in Dubai a chance to choose between emerging bargains and places where the prospects for capital gains may be strong.

Developers in the UAE have been responding to a fall-off in the number of people buying off-plan property there from overseas by offering new incentives such as discounts for paying in cash, Gulf News reported.