Key One Realty Group, a real estate firm in Dubai, has announced its active participation at Expo 2020 Dubai under Cityscape Global.

Diana Magariu, CEO and founder of Key One Realty Group, said that it was a great privilege and an excellent opportunity for her company to exhibit at the mega event opening in Dubai on October 1, 2021.

“Not only will we be able to meet new clients and expand our network, but we will be able to share new ideas and insights with others in the same industry,” she said. “I also believe that it will not only make people visit Dubai, but actually help them understand the country, appreciate it, and want to live in it. People are willing to relocate to the UAE because it is one of the few countries that was able to contain the spread of Covid-19 rapidly – on top of being a major business hub, especially with Expo 2020, which will now bring in more investment opportunities.”

Answering a question about how the company was able to operate during the pandemic, she described Covid-19 as a really big challenge. “Everyone had to work from home and movement was really restricted. Thankfully, the Dubai Land Department implemented a remote registration service where we could finalise property transactions without the presence of the buyer and seller needed physically. We also saw the positive side of such a challenging situation. Because of it, we learned to adopt new tools, new communication methods, and new ways of doing real estate. We have become more efficient and effective in our process.”

According to the Dubai Land Department (DLD), Q2 of 2021 recorded 15,638 sales transactions worth Dh36.86 billion. There is also a quarter-on-quarter increase of 46.76 per cent in sales value and 33.26 per cent in volume meaning more people are starting to invest in properties once again. For June 2021, there was a month-on-month increase of 44.33 per cent in sales volume and 33.20 per cent in value which means property prices are going up due to the increase in demand. Around two per cent of the sales transactions were in the secondary market and 37.8 per cent were off-plan.

“If we compare Q2 of 2021 to Q2 of 2020, there is an increase of 183.4 per cent in volume and 237.79 per cent in the value of sales transactions,” Magariu said. “If compared to 2019, an increase of 78.27 per cent in volume and 102 per cent in value can be seen. Dubai real estate marketing is slowly but surely progressing.”

The DLD has also said that the top areas of interest in Q2 for villas and townhouses were Mohammed Bin Rashid City (MBR), Dubai Hills Estate, Dubai Land, Green Community, and Town Square. As for apartments, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai Marina, Meydan, Jumeirah Village Circle, and Downtown Dubai were the top areas of interest.

“It’s not a surprise that investors took advantage of the low prices of properties during the height of the pandemic. When things eventually settled down and the demand started outpouring, naturally, property prices started increasing,” Magariu said.

She believes that the coming 6-12 months will bring more stability to the market due to investors gaining their confidence back. However, a cut back in supply in housing is necessary to really trigger faster recovery.