More than 23,000 building permits issued in Dubai in 2012
A total of 23,243 building permits were issued in Dubai last year, which highlights just how strongly the city's property sector has recovered in the last 12 months.There was a significant downturn in construction activity following the global economic downturn in 2008, but new figures released by the Building Department of Dubai Municipality have shown that things are now back to normal.Engineer and acting director of the building department Yusuf Abdullah broke down exactly how many new buildings were given the green light last year."Total construction permissions include 12,952 private villas, 1,366 commercial villas, 2,182 industrial buildings, 2,227 facilities, 3,339 multi-storey buildings and 1,117 floor additions," he remarked.Mr Abdullah added that 11,723 developments are currently ongoing, while 2,421 completion certificates were issued during the course of the year.Officials also inspected 98,891 sites to ensure building contractors were working to the highest standards possible.All of this paints a very positive picture of the construction industry in Dubai at the moment."These numbers indicate the revival of [the] construction industry and the civic body undertakes all these procedures and inspections to confirm the safety of buildings and protect the lives of [the] public," Mr Abdullah continued.You only have to take a quick look around Dubai to see that the cranes are moving again and this is great news for investors from all over the world.Property investments in Dubai were once again in vogue in 2012 and this trend is expected to continue this year.Data recently supplied by the Dubai Land Department showed that more than 13,500 of the 18,635 people who purchased real estate in the emirate last year came from outside the Gulf Co-operation Council.Indeed, wealthy foreigners spent a staggering AED 36 billion on properties throughout the city last year and with more high-quality stock entering the market, there is every chance this figure will be surpassed in 2013.It certainly seems that Dubai has regained its status as a safe haven for global investors in the past 12 months.Click here for your free property investment guide