Dubai apartments’ asking rents have dropped almost -30% in the last 2 years
This is arguably the best time ever to be a tenant in the UAE. Landlords have never been so flexible with prices, rent-free periods, payment terms and other incentives to attract tenants.
According to the “Property Finder Trends” report, Dubai apartments’ advertised rental asking prices have dropped almost -30% in the last 2 years, with more than half of that in the last 12 months alone.
Landlords who are still paying off mortgages cannot afford their properties lying vacant for too long amid increasing market supply and are hence lowering rents, increasing the number of cheques, offering rent-free periods and in some instances even throwing in the white goods and maintenance packages to woo tenants.
- Landlords lure tenants with cheap rents, rent-free periods, multiple cheque payments and more
- Al Furjan, Green Community and Culture Village apartments see double-digit rent declines
- International City is the cheapest place to rent an apartment in Dubai and City Walk is the most expensive
In H2 2018, the biggest falls in advertised apartment rents were seen in Green Community (-9.3%), JLT (-8.7%) and DIFC (-7.5%), according to data from Property Finder, the UAE’s foremost real estate portal.
Over a 12-month period, Al Furjan (-25.7%), Green Community (-25.2%) and Culture Village apartments (-22.9%) saw the largest declines while rents in Dubai Silicon Oasis held steady, falling just -0.6%.
Villa rents in Dubai dropped -11.3% over the past 12 months and -22.2% over the past 2 years, estimates the “Property Finder Trends” report.
More and more families are taking advantage of the current market situation to relocate from an apartment and upgrade to a villa with more space and a garden
Lukman Hajje, Chief Commercial Officer, Property Finder
“More and more families are taking advantage of the current market situation to relocate from an apartment and upgrade to a villa with more space and a garden. It’s no longer a case of where one can find a suitable property, but deciding which to choose,” said Lukman Hajje, Chief Commercial Officer, Property Finder
Over the past six months, big drops in advertised rents were seen in villas in DAMAC Hills (-19.3%), Victory Heights (-16.2%) and Dubai Silicon Oasis (-8.3%). However, centrally located communities such as The Lakes (+3.7%), Arabian Ranches (+2.2%) and Arabian Ranches 2 (+1.5%) witnessed small increases in their median advertised rents.
International City is the cheapest place to rent an apartment in Dubai with a median advertised annual rent of AED 32,998. City Walk is the most expensive, with a median of AED 189,674 per annum, reveals the “Property Finder Trends” report.
