Dubai apartment rents, Q1 2018. Courtesy Asteco
Dubai apartment rents, Q1 2018. Courtesy Asteco
Dubai apartment rents, Q1 2018. Courtesy Asteco
Dubai apartment rents, Q1 2018. Courtesy Asteco

Dubai rents Q1, 2018: All you need to know


Ian Oxborrow
  • English
  • Arabic

What was the general market movement?

It was a generally stable start to the year for the Dubai renting market, although brokers are seeing fragmentation, which, according to Asteco, is widening the rental ranges "considerably".

Average residential rents fell 1 per cent quarter on quarter, but rates are down by double digits in many areas year-on-year, as they have been in Abu Dhabi.

Lower-end buildings in areas with significant supply potential have struggled to find tenants, particularly where rates and incentives were not aligned with the market.

In an effort to encourage tenants, landlords have been using incentives such as multiple cheques, rent-free periods, or absorbing agency fees and utility bills.

The fall in rents during the past couple of years has come amid lower oil prices and slower economic growth, which has seen companies trim benefits and allowances on offer to employees.

"Housing allowances for many expats are being realigned in line with changing business activity and hence their appetite for higher ticket properties remains low," Manika Dhama, senior consultant at Cavendish Maxwell, said earlier this month.

Dubai villa rents for Q1, 2018. Courtesy Asteco
Dubai villa rents for Q1, 2018. Courtesy Asteco

Which new developments opened?

A total of 3,650 properties were handed over in the first quarter, Asteco said. Of these, 625 were villas. This came on the back of 17,500 new units last year.

Most of the new developments are located in the investment areas along Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road (E311), Emirates Road (E611). Meanwhile, the first of three towers at The Residences at Marina Gate in Dubai Marina opened.

What is the expected supply for the remainder of the year?

Approximately 30,000 units are meant to be delivered in 2018, but only 12 per cent came to the market in the first three months of the year. Apartments are set to provide the bulk of the new builds, providing 21,000 units, with another 5,000 villas to come.

Rents in International City are down 9 per cent year on year. Antonie Robertson / The National
Rents in International City are down 9 per cent year on year. Antonie Robertson / The National

Where can I expect to get a good deal?

Some of Dubai's most popular communities have witnessed the sharpest decline in rents. These include Jumeirah Beach Residence and Jumeirah Village, which both recorded a 15 per cent drop year-on-year, while Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina and Deira all fell 14 per cent. Other areas that have become more affordable are Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, Greens and Dubai Sports City. For those who feel they are paying too much rent to live in Dubai, the rates are far cheaper than they were a decade ago.

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Read more:

Abu Dhabi rents in Q1, 2018: All you need to know

Abu Dhabi launches rental index to boost transparency

End of the two-cheque tenancy: UAE's renters find themselves with the upper hand against struggling landlords

Dubai house prices, rents drop in first quarter of 2018

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Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2014

Number of employees: 36

Sector: Logistics

Raised: $2.5 million

Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
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Sector: Insurance Sector

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Investors: Safe City Group

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Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

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6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

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MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs