The average annual house price in Dubai decreased by 13.2% in April 2018, with some communities registering even steeper price declines, a Property Monitor report has found.

According to data from the UAE-based real estate intelligence platform, which is owned by Cavendish Maxwell, communities such as Emirates Living, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and IMPZ saw price declines of more than 14% on average.

Month-to-month, the price decline for April was 1.5%, compared to 1.7% in March, the Dubai House Price Index for April found. House prices in the three months leading up to March were 4.9% lower than in the previous quarter, it added.

Overall, the average house price in Dubai decreased to AED2.5 million, it said. Property Monitor also highlighted that the rate of off-plan apartment transfers remained high in April, as had been the case over the last 12 months.

However, the total volume of residential transactions over Q1 2019 was 1% lower than the same period in 2018. Meanwhile, the volume of apartment transfers in Q1 2019 decreased by nearly 15% compared to the same period last year.

According to the report, the average apartment price dropped to AED1.7 million, marginally below the AED1.8 million figures from the previous two months. The average villa/townhouse price remained relatively stable at AED4.5 million, it added.

In comparison, in September 2015, the prices for apartments and villas/townhouses were AED2.1 million and AED5.6 million respectively, which indicated a decline of 19% and 20%.

The index has been tracking the prices of a selection of apartments and villas/townhouses since September 2015.