Indians are buying properties in a big way in Dubai. They topped the list of non-Arab foreign investors in Dubai property, with more than Dh20 billion of purchases in 2015. They were followed by UK citizens who spent Dh10 billion in 2015, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) said in its annual report. Khaleej Times has published this news.

Investment from non-Arab expats surpassed Dh74 billion in 2015. The number of overseas non-Emirati investors grew to 56,000 - a 33 per cent increase over 41,475 investors reported in 2014.

Overseas buyers committed Dh135 billion to real estate purchases in Dubai in 2015, up 24 per cent from Dh109 billion reported in 2014. Investments by GCC nationals stood at Dh44 billion in 2015, up from Dh32 billion in 2014. Of this, Emiratis accounted for Dh26.1 billion.

Investment by Saudi nationals jumped 73 per cent to Dh9 billion, compared to Dh5.2 billion in 2014, with the number of investors up 86 per cent to 3,259 (2,745 in 2014).

Non-Gulf Arabs also increased their investment by a third to Dh16 billion, with Jordanians topping the list (1,516 investors purchased Dh3.5 billion worth of properties), followed by Egyptians. Mr.Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director-general of the DLD, said Dubai enjoys an extremely high degree of acceptance from international investors because of its attributes and return on investment. Mr. Bin Mejren said investments by Gulf nationals protect Dubai's property market from seasonal fluctuations.

Meanwhile, a New Delhi based Real-Estate expert and India’s leading architect Mr. Deepak Mehta says that Dubai is very popular destination among Indians to buy properties. In West Asia, Dubai is preferred due to accessibility. Distance is a deterrent in case of the US. However, the US is preferred by Indians who have spent some time studying and working there. Indians prefer Dubai due to proximity and also due to the fact that it is a great place to do business.

A two-bedroom apartment there can cost $400,000 or Rs 2 crore.