Dubai numbers can be deceptive

Property data in Dubai is always a dicey barometer of the market. In the absence of public records of sale transactions, agencies use their own methods and research to arrive at their own conclusions. The property companies often acknowledge that the data doesn't always represent a completely accurate picture of the market. Today's report from Asteco is a good example. In the mix of data about stablising rentals and drops in some neighbourhoods, the property company reported that prices for apartments in downtown Dubai fell 8 per cent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. That's a dramatic number. And it fit with a drop of 10 per cent in Discovery Gardens and seven per cent in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), compared to the previous quarter. But the downtown area, which is typically defined as the area around Burj Khalifa, is a different beast than the affordable apartments in Discovery Gardens and JLT. Downtown is actually one of the more popular areas in Dubai, Asteco chief executive Elaine Jones said. Sale prices dropped Dh13,910 a square metre to Dh11,850 a square metre in the last year, but the eight per cent drop in the last quarter is a bit of an anomaly. "The amount of transactions is not particularly high, which means the data we have can be easily influenced by a handful of transactions," Ms Jones said. The data from Asteco's "basket of properties" is accurate, but it may unfairly portray what's actually happening downtown, she said.