Dubai is set to see a more stable real estate market in 2016 with prices expected to rise slightly and rents remain stable in the coming 12 months.
New growth is likely to centre on affordable homes with several developers already announcing a foray into this sector of the real estate market. International City, IMPZ, Dubailand, Sports City, JVC and Silicon Oasis already have a number of lower cost options for buyers.
The latest data from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority shows that rents for one and two bedroom apartments fell in 2015 across much of Dubai.
Rents for one bedroom flats fell by between 4.55 per cent and 11per cent depending on location. Two bed rents in Downtown Dubai are down by between 5.26per cent and 5.88per cent while in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) they fell by between 8.33per centand 10per cent.
In International City, rents of two bedroom apartments are down by 7.69per cent to 10per cent, in Dubai Marina they are down 5.26 per cent, in Palm Jumeirah they dropped by u to 5.55per cent and in Discovery Gardens they fell by 5.8 per cent.
However rents in this sector were stable in many other locations including the Greens, Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Village Circle, Arjan, Dubai Sports City, Dubailand and the International Media Production Zone.
The arbitrary nature of rent prices is also shown in the latest data from real estate portal Bayut. It shows that average rents at the end of 2015 were AED 137,000, up 2.14per cent from AED 134,000 at the end of December 2014.
A breakdown of the figures show that for studio apartments average rents were unchanged year on year but those for one bedroom flats increased 6.6 per cent while two and three bedroom apartment rents fell by 4per cent and 2 per cent respectively. Four bedroom rents fell by 12 per cent.
The firm believes that more affordable property will prove popular and is expecting 2016 to be a busy year in the residential real estate market as the population continues to increase and the economy continues to diversify.
“Business and job growth will drive demand for residential and commercial spaces and ultimately help push property prices upwards,” the firm added.
