Tenants stay in driving seat in Dubai
dubai — The cost of renting and buying property in Dubai has decreased since H2 2017, but most price falls remain modest, according to Bayut.com.
Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut, said: “Renters and buyers are still firmly in the driving seat, with renters likely to bargain with landlords to negotiate a lower rent, or upgrade by moving to a larger property or a new area. The decrease in sales prices opens up opportunities for buyers too. Whether you are renting or buying, it is a good time to make a move in the Dubai property market.”
The rental price decline was modest for the most part, with a maximum average decrease of 10 per cent in most areas. One-bed apartments in Deira were an exception, with rents falling by 15.38 per cent. Meanwhile, Dubai Marina was the most popular among tenants.
Apartment rents witnessed some of the steepest falls among all sectors in H1 2018 as compared to H2 2017. After Deira, the next steepest price decrease was for 2-bed apartments in Dubai Sports City, which was 10.59 per cent.
Sales prices too dropped but the decreases were modest in H1 2018. Dubai Marina was again the most popular for apartment sales, said Bayut.com. In Dubai Marina, decreases in sales prices were around the five per cent mark for 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments.
There were falls in average villa sales prices across the board, apart from some stability in The Villa,
where the average sales price for a 5-bed villa remained the same at Dh4 million. Two-bed villas in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) also remained stable at Dh2.4 million.
In Dubai Marina, the average cost for renting a 1-bed was Dh87,000. In sales, the price for a studio reached Dh850,000.
For villas, the most popular area for rentals was Mirdif, where the average price for a 3-bedroom
property was Dh120,000. In sales, Arabian Ranches was the most popular area and the average price for a 3-bed villa fell by 6.25 per cent to Dh3 million.
Khan added: “We may see more first-time buyers coming into the market, people who traditionally would have just rented a different place might consider buying given the lower prices.”
— deepthi@khaleejtimes.com