Opportunities for Dubai property buyers and renters as values decline

Latest report from real estate portal Bayut.com says more first-time buyers are likely to be attracted to the market

It is not actually illegal for a broker to charge both the buyer and seller of a property in the UAE. AFP

The cost of renting and buying property in Dubai has decreased since the second half of last year, and that is likely to spur an increase in investing, according to real estate portral Bayut.com's first half 2018 market report.

“The average property price decreases in Dubai from H2 2017 are in line with what we foresaw last year," said Haider Ali Khan, chief executive of Bayut.

"As we move into the later half of the year, we expect the prices to hover around where they are right now and for the serious parties, there will be great opportunities to invest at good price points.

"I believe 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," Mr Ali Khan said.

The waterfront destination of Dubai Marina took the top spot as the most searched-for area by Bayut.com users for apartment rentals in Dubai, the report said. Rental prices across the board there fell by 3 per cent on average, with studios going for Dh60,000, one-bedroom apartments for Dh87,000 and two-bedroom units for Dh130,000 per year. Coming in second was budget-friendly Deira, which was one of the few places with prices increasing on average for two-bedroom units by 8 per cent to Dh92,000, Bayut reported. Studios averaged Dh32,000, although one-bed units at Dh55,000 were subject a fall of 15 per cent.

After Deira, the next steepest rental price decrease was for two-bed apartments in Dubai Sports City, at 10.5 per cent. Remaining declines were between 2 and 9 per cent.

Other popular areas for renting apartments in Dubai include: Dubai Silicon Oasis; Bur Dubai;  Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT); Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC); Business Bay; Downtown Dubai and International City, Bayut said.

______________

Read more:

Municipality fee for villas and apartments in Abu Dhabi to be set at 5 per cent

Tenancy laws need a review to attract more UAE buy-to-let investors

How long do expats need to stay for buying a home to make sense?

______________

The continued popularity of areas such as JVC, Dubai Silicon Oasis, International City and Dubai Sports City indicated that there is certainly a demand for low-cost residential communities in the Dubai property market, the report said.

Rental price decreases were modest for the most part, with a maximum average decrease of 10 per cent in most areas.

For villas, the most popular area for rentals was Mirdif, where the average price for a three-bedroom property was Dh120,000.

In terms of sales, prices dropped but again modestly, Bayut said, with Dubai Marina also the most popular for apartment sales. Manchester Towers received the highest number of searches.

In Dubai Marina, decreases in sales prices were around the 5 per cent mark for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments, according to the report.

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 five-bed villa remained the same as the second half of last year at Dh4 million. Bayut said two-bed villas in JVC also remained stable at Dh2.4m.

In villa sales, Arabian Ranches was the most popular area, and the average price for a three-bed villa fell by 6.25 per cent to Dh3m.

"We are seeing that 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," Mr Ali Khan said.

“Whether you are renting or buying, it is definitely a good time to make a move in the Dubai property market.”