Emaar Apartment Sales Decline 85% as Villas Sales Climb
Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), the developer of the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, said that revenue from apartment sales plunged 85% last year, and sales of villas climbed 85% during the period.
Income from apartment sales dropped to 1.11 billion dirham ($303 million) from 7.56 billion dirham a year earlier, according to Emaar’s financial statement posted on Dubai’s stock market today.
Revenue from the sale of villas rose to 959 million dirham from 517.3 million dirham. Emaar posted a 27% decline in full-year profit on Feb. 14th and provided a breakdown of revenue today.
Dubai’s housing market is hitting bottom after a boom led by speculators collapsed in 2008, causing prices to drop by more than 65 %. Villas are now attracting more interest than apartments, which dominate Dubai’s market, as rental yields on villas tend to be higher.
Mohammad Kamal, an analyst at Arqaam Capital said “Incoming supply remains substantial and it remains premature to call a broad recovery in the residential sector, regardless of recent demand trends in terms of villas and apartments,” and he added “If prices improve 0.5% in a specific district, that doesn’t mean the broader sector is improving.”, as Bloomberg stated.
Emaar, which is 31% owned by Dubai’s government plans to pay a 10 fils dividend for 2011
