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Abu Dhabi House Price Declines Ease -Landmark | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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DUBAI, (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi apartment prices fell by up to 15 percent since May while prices for villas declined by as much as 5 percent, but signs of stability are returning as price declines ease, Landmark Advisory said on Monday.

Activity in the United Arab Emirates construction sector is picking up while property price declines are slowing, in line with improving sentiment in the global real estate sector.

Abu Dhabi, home to most of the country’s oil, has weathered the global downturn better than its neighbour Dubai.

“We found that the lower limits of price ranges have remained quite stable, extending the recent trend of price stabilisation,” said Jesse Downs, the firm’s director of research and advisory services, referring to apartment prices.

Villa prices, which have fallen by up to 45 percent since the third quarter of last year, are also beginning to stabilise, she added.

Sales activity in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai picked up during June and July and have been most active since the third and fourth quarters of last year, the report said.

“Dubai sale prices are relatively stable … but if rents keep falling for an extended period, then sale prices could be dragged down as well,” Downs said.

Dubai house prices fell by 24 percent in the second quarter from the prior quarter, Landmark Advisory said in a report in August.

A rise in construction activity in the UAE indicates the worst of the downturn in the sector could be over.

Lebanon’s Arabian Construction Co (ACC) said on Sunday it won a 1.46 billion dirham contract in Dubai to build one of the world’s tallest residential towers, which follows a $187 million contract awarded on Aug. 25 to Arabtec.

Landmark Advisory is part of real estate brokerage and consultancy Landmark Properties, which has offices in the United Arab Emirates and London.