A detailed analysis of Dubai’s property markets has revealed that rents are down across the board for apartments and villas.
Every neighbourhood in the emirate posted a fall in rents in 2017 – except the best performer.
Studio apartments in Mirdif bucked the trend with rents standing still. Everywhere else was in the red.
Overall, the statistics from property web site Bayut revealed apartment rents fared worst for landlords with drops of up to 16% for studio and one-bedroom apartments in International City, while two-bed apartments in Deira also plunged by 16.3%.
Four bed villas in Jumeirah Park were down 20.7%, but villas in Dubailand, Palm Jumeirah, Umm Sequim and Mirdif also slipped more than 13% into the red.
Properties cheaper in popular suburbs
The real estate company estimated rental yields at 5% for apartments and 7% for villas.
“While it was the most popular, Mirdif is also the most wallet-friendly villa locale with annual rents averaging at AED 130K, 145K and 150K for three, four, and five bedrooms, respectively (dropping 9% to 13% from their price in 2016),2 said a Bayut spokesman.
“Palm Jumeirah proved to be the most expensive of 2017’s popular areas, with tenants shelling out between AED 315K and AED 450K for three to five-bedroom properties, although this is still 6% to 13% lower than the same period in 2016.”
Sales were more of a mixed bag, with some neighbourhoods showing price rises for apartments and villas – but more were in the red than showing increases.
The largest increases were for two (up 10%) and three-bedroom villas (up 7.2%) in the Reem Community. Single bed apartments in Palm Jumeirah saw prices rise 5%.
Where buyers want to go
In other areas, the prices were below 2%, with five posting zero growth and the rest in the red.
The biggest drops were for three (-13.4%) and four bed villas (-11.5%) on the Jumeirah Golf Estate.
“Burj Khalifa received a whopping 55% of all inquiries on Downtown Dubai listings,” said the spokesman.
“Of the popular areas for buying apartments in 2017, investors and homebuyers found that the asking price in Dubai International City dropped by 5%,
“When it comes to purchasing villas, Arabian Ranches was the most searched-for community, while Reem Community, Dubailand, Palm Jumeirah and The Springs were also popular.”
