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Dubai’s 56% property surge awakens memories of the 2009 crash

The emirate of Dubai saw the world’s biggest climb in prime property prices in 2021, but several stalled projects still linger over its skyline.

On Dubai’s luxury Palm Jumeirah Island, a 10-bedroom mansion sold for a record $76m in April. Demand for villas is soaring and a futuristic building is being constructed nearby with a 90-meter-high infinity pool and a giant tank of jellyfish. 

Yet, right opposite, stand the concrete skeletons of four unfinished buildings from a stalled 20-year-old project called the Dubai Pearl - a reminder of how quickly booms can go bust. 

Last year, Dubai saw the biggest increase in high-end property prices globally, with prime real estate prices rising 56% in 2021, according to Knight Frank. This has prompted the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, an arm of the Dubai Land Department, to say that it is “currently in talks with the master developer for the Dubai Pearl project to finalise everything and kick-off the project again.”

Dubai Pearl’s initial investors - a group of early buyers which consists of 86 individuals - are still waging legal battles. They’ve been petitioning city officials and royal family members as part of a long-running effort to recoup their money through a sale of the existing project to a new developer. 

“We have waited 16 long years, and some with massive losses,” a group of shareholders said in a letter to Dubai’s land department. “Many buyers face personal stress due to financial difficulties.” 

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