Sharjah rents: 12% drop from 2016
Softening of apartment rents mirrors increased supply of affordable housing in neighbouring Dubai, report says
Residential rents in Sharjah have taken the biggest fall in the Northern Emirates, sliding 12 per cent on average since the third quarter of 2016, according to new research.
The main reason for the softening of rents in the northern emirates was the increased supply of affordable properties in Dubai, said UAE Real Estate Report Q3 2017 by Asteco, a leading Dubai-based real estate services company.
Rents in Dubai affect bordering Sharjah, where rents are much lower on average.
It appears that Sharjah tenants, for the most part, are staying put amid falling rents across the country.
While some are taking advantage of lower rents by moving
to relatively inexpensive suburban areas in Dubai, the majority of Sharjah apartment tenants like where they are, John Stevens, managing director of Asteco, told Gulf News.
His comments echo the Q3 report, which shows that even though average rents fell 13 per cent in the most affordable areas of Dubai and Sharjah, from the third quarter of 2016 to the same period in 2017, the difference in the actual amounts is clear. For example, the report shows that two-bedroom flats in Dubai’s International City, widely regarded as one of Dubai’s most affordable areas, cost Dh50,000 to Dh70,000 in average annual rent — a 13 per cent decrease on third quarter 2016.
Still out of reach
However, those rates, when compared to Sharjah’s Al Wahda area (where rents also dipped 13 per cent on average) are still expensive. Average annual rent for two-bedroom flats in Al Wahda ranged from Dh25,000 to Dh28,000 in the third quarter. Some Sharjah tenants told Gulf News that rents in Dubai are still out of their reach.
Compared to occupancy rates of up to 40 per cent during 2008, occupancy rates today in Sharjah have climbed well past 80 per cent, he added.
One factor in Sharjah retaining tenants is understanding landlords, Stevens said. “Landlords in Sharjah are being more flexible with tenants.”