Indians spent35,500 Korean rupees on purchasing housing in Dubai in2022.

Rich India has found a new address to live in: Business Bay, Dubai. With deep pockets and a desire for a luxurious lifestyle, affluent Indians - mostly businessmen and entrepreneurs - are flocking here in large numbers to buy apartments in this trendy financial district, say local real estate players. Another popular area is Downtown Dubai - a tourist center with many shopping centers and skyscrapers, including the Burj Khalifa.

Real estate market data for 2022 confirms this trend. Last year, Dubai earned Dh16 billion (Rs 35,500 crore) from sales to Indians, almost double the amount of about Dh9 billion worth of property sold in 2021. 40% of home buyers were from India, predominantly from Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad and Punjab. The remaining 40% were Indians residing in the UAE and 20% were global Indians living in different parts of the world.

"There is also a certain percentage of senior executives with global responsibilities who are considering buying property in Dubai because of its connections to the world," says the CEO of a real estate consultancy with operations in Dubai. He points out that many affluent Indians are moving to high-end rental apartments, leaving metropolitan cities back home. The rental market in Dubai, which experienced a 30% decline during the pandemic, is now back to the levels of 2015-2016, which was the peak period for real estate in the city.

Vishal Goel, co-founder of JV Ventures, is one such entrepreneur. "Being based in Dubai allows me to travel seamlessly between Hyderabad, Dubai and London for work," Goel says. He notes that the fintech ecosystem offered by the Dubai International Financial Center also attracts many young Indian entrepreneurs to the city. "My wife, for example, has been able to set up her fintech project, which allows her to easily operate in global markets. This is something she would not have been able to do so effectively from India," says Goel, whose venture capital fund focuses on social assets and life sciences.

While the average cost of houses purchased by Indians in Dubai is between Dh1.6 million and Dh1.7 million (Rs 3.6 crore to Rs 3.8 crore), the monthly rent is between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh. Local realtors say that the average rental yield of a property in Dubai is between 4% and 5%, which is similar to Mumbai.

"This is an advantage for many white-collar professionals," says another prominent realtor.

Ashrat Chowdhury, director of strategy at Damac Properties, a leading real estate group in Dubai, agrees. He says this is why Damac is attracting buyers even from small towns in India, especially Punjab. "Our business among Indians has grown 2.5 times in 2022," he says, adding, "What we sold in a year in 2019, we are selling now in a month." According to him, about 15-20% of all real estate sales in Dubai are made by the Indian community, which is one of the two main home buyers in the city. The other major buyers are the Russians. The British, Chinese and Pakistanis are also prominent international buyers of real estate in Dubai.

The Golden Visa program, expanded in 2022 to attract more workers, skilled professionals, academics and researchers, has been an additional boost to real estate growth in Dubai, industry analysts say. The program is a type of long-term visa that allows foreign talent to live, work or study in the UAE while enjoying exclusive benefits. In fact, increased demand from international real estate buyers has led to the launch of more apartment and villa projects in the city.

"My children are happy here because the Indian curriculum schools in Dubai are among the best in the world. The city is extremely safe. Even if you leave your bag with cash in a cab, the driver will find you and return it," says entrepreneur Rahul Bhattad, who moved to Dubai from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. He notes that his aged parents too have fallen in love with the glitz and glamor of this modern city.