A villa in Dubai's Emirates Hills was sold for Dh75 million ($20.4m), highlighting the growing demand for luxury <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/property/" target="_blank">property</a> in the emirate's booming real estate market. The mansion, with 30,000 square feet of built-up area, was designed by architects Kobi Karp and was first sold in 2021 before being re-sold in 2022. It features custom-made furnishing including a chandelier with more than 500 hand-blown glass spheres and crystal butterflies, and a 50-year-old Bonsai tree in the atrium. The Emirates Hills district is registering demand from high-net worth individuals and international buyers from Germany, Switzerland, France, Russia, Italy, India and the GCC, according to Luxhabitat Sotheby's International Realty, which closed the transaction. “Emirates Hills is back on the map with record high prices of the properties due to more demand and limited availability, making it true to its nickname as the 'Beverly Hills of Dubai',” said Leigh Borg, managing director of Luxhabitat Sotheby's. “Due to high demand, some sellers are highly invested in refurbishing or, in some cases, completely demolishing and rebuilding properties to meet the requirements of the latest high-net-worth buyers.” Luxhabitat Sotheby's recorded Dh750m of sales transactions in 2021 while more than a dozen Emirates Hills villas have been sold in 2022 so far, with a total value of Dh458.5m. The UAE property market has been rebounding on the back of government initiatives such as <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/property/dubai-s-new-retirement-visa-to-boost-local-economy-and-property-market-1.1072438">residency permits for retirees</a> and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/dubai-jobs-and-visas-meet-the-remote-workers-who-escaped-a-world-in-lockdown-1.1226889">remote workers</a>, as well as the expansion of the 10-year <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2022/03/03/why-the-market-for-golden-passports-and-visas-is-booming/">golden visa</a> programme and the economic boost from Expo 2020 Dubai. The market has also benefitted from the country's widespread coronavirus vaccination programme, which has kept cases relatively low compared with other countries around the world. Overall property transaction volumes in Dubai stood at 11,071 in January and February — the highest total recorded in the first two months of the year, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/property/2022/03/16/dubai-property-prices-where-they-are-rising-and-falling/" target="_blank">according to CBRE</a>. Average prices were up 10.7 per cent in the year to February, with average apartment prices rising 9.1 per cent and villa prices increasing 21 per cent. Properties in Emirates Hills were the second most expensive in the city behind Palm Jumeirah at Dh1,996 per square foot — up 2.3 per cent a month. Luxury home sales in Dubai also <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/property/2022/03/08/dubai-registers-record-luxury-home-sales-in-2021/">hit their highest</a> last year since 2015, property consultant Knight Frank said in a <a href="https://content.knightfrank.com/research/2408/documents/en/dubais-covid-comeback-2022-8855.pdf">report</a>. A total of 93 homes, each worth more than $10m, were sold in 2021 as wealthy buyers tapped into the post-coronavirus recovery. The increase in wealthy buyer demand pushed luxury home prices up by 44 per cent in prime areas such as Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/luxury/2022/02/24/dubai-property-of-the-week-dh130m-13-bedroom-villa-is-biggest-for-sale-on-palm-jumeirah/">Palm Jumeirah</a> last year, Knight Frank said.
