Investors interested in the UAE property market may take heart from new figures revealing a 20 per cent rise in Dubai real estate transaction values in 2011 compared with the previous year.

The Dubai land department said it recorded the completion of 35,297 deals - including mortgages and property sales - worth 143 billion UAE dirhams (£25 billion) last year and attributed this to local government's efforts to support the real estate market.

Mortgage activity increased by 12 per cent, with flat sales reaching 27 billion UAE dirhams and villa sales standing at 4 billion UAE dirhams.

According to the Dubai land department, the figures point to a return to normality for the Dubai real estate sector. Director-general Sultan Butti bin Mejrin predicted this will lead to a robust recovery in the near future.

Despite this, it is likely Dubai property prices will continue to fall, according to some experts. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Ronald Hinchey of Cluttons Dubai said while the sector experienced a certain level of stability last year with values rising in some prime areas, "prices are seen further softening over the next five years or more as the global economic decline continues and more units come online".

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