Morning round-up: DIFC rents drop 40%

Commercial rents at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have fallen 40 per cent in the past six months, according to a report by the property consultancy CB Richard Ellis. The National's Angela Giuffrida reports that they dropped from a peak of Dh750 ($204) per sq ft to Dh450, but DIFC remains in a better position than many of the other commercial rental properties in the emirate.

A survey of property chief executives in the UAE conducted by Emirates Business 24/7 found that 80 per cent of the industry leaders expect better returns from their sector in the second half of this year.

Gulf News reports that a standard property contract is coming to Dubai's real estate market, aiming to get rid of misleading small print. A senior official at Dubai Land Department said that having a basic contract would now become the norm and added that it would make it harder for buyers and developers to wriggle out of contracts or to add fine print to existing contracts.

Gulf News also notes that Emaar led a resurgence on the Dubai Financial Market yesterday, with the developer climbing 12.6 per cent to reach Dh 2.95 to help lead the DFM up four per cent.