A boom in Dubai's prime residential market has led to prices rising almost 60 per cent in the past 12 months, driven by growing interest from international investors, according to consultancy Knight Frank.

Prime areas include Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island, among others.

Palm Jumeirah registered villa price growth of close to 11 per cent during the first quarter and more than 38 per cent over the last 12 months. Villa prices in Emirates Hills rose 6.5 per cent in the first three months of the year and by almost 20 per cent in the last year, according to the report.

“Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills continue to cement their iconic status, with global buyers continuing to jostle for an address in Dubai’s most exclusive enclaves,” said Faisal Durrani, partner — head of Middle East research, at Knight Frank.

“In addition, there were a record-breaking 93 ultra-prime home sales in 2021 — these are homes priced at over $10 million. During Q1, we’ve recorded another 32 ultra-prime deals, exceeding the second best annual total set in 2015.”

Dubai's property market has made a strong recovery from the pandemic-driven slowdown as the UAE's economy improves, helped by fiscal and monetary measures.

The market registered 25,972 property transactions in the first quarter of this year, the highest number of quarterly deals since 2010, according to Mo’asher, the emirate’s official sales price index issued by the Dubai Land Department in partnership with Property Finder.

A number of new records have also been registered in the market in recent months.

These have included an apartment at the Bulgari Resort and Residences selling for the highest price per square foot in the city. Also, a 10-bedroom, custom-built villa with 70 metres of private beachfront on Palm Jumeirah sold for a record Dh280m ($76m), beating the previous record of Dh185m set in 2015.