Dubai property prices slumped 41 percent in during the first three months of 2009, Colliers International said on Tuesday, at the higher end of recent market assessments for the first quarter.
The real estate consultancy said its Dubai House Price Index shows the price of properties still under construction saw the biggest fall, dropping 56 percent, while the price of completed properties dropped 31 percent.
Colliers said a lack of available finance, job losses and concerns over the future of projects were all factors weighing on the market.
“Negative sentiment is the key factor driving the decline in the index and the availability of finance continues to impact the market,” Colliers International CEO John Davis said in a statement.
“End-users are concerned about job security and therefore unwilling to enter the market, even if finance is available to them, while the price/yield gap is tempting professional investors to wait for further declines.”
Colliers is just the latest real estate consultancy to release gloomy Q1 figures for Dubai's beleaguered property market, which has seen prices plummet from their highs in mid-2008 due to a lack of demand and financing.
Property consultancies Asteco and Colliers said in separate reports published in the past week that residential sale prices in Dubai slumped around 40 percent during the first quarter, while Landmark Advisory said prices fell up to 30 percent.
Most analysts expect prices will continue to slump for the remainder of 2009 and into 2010.
Swiss bank USB forecast last week prices will drop as much as 70 percent from their peaks, while EFG-Hermes has predicted prices will slump 60 percent by the end of 2009 from their 2008 highs.