Dubai: Have rents in Dubai actually seen some softening? The chances are that the overwhelming response would be an emphatic “No!”.
Dubai’s residents certainly have had to shell out more over the last 24 months, and in many a case the hikes have been quite substantial. Though there are clear guidelines from the Dubai Land Department on the extent of annual increases and in which situations these can be done, landlords have seldom followed these in full,
But some dips have started to take place, according to Paul Maisfield of MPM Properties. “Maybe not at the broader level, but there are micro-level intricacies of little corrections happening in some locations.
“The affordability threshold may have been reached by the spikes in recent months and landlords are now finding there is little room for rents to go up any further without finding resistance from tenants.”
According to the latest outlook from the consultancy JLL, the fourth quarter can see another 9,000 odd homes entering the market, followed by 20,000 plus units next year. These would then drop to 10,000 units plus in 2016.
The bulk of the recent off-plan announcements made is still some distance away from adding their stock to the ‘ready-for-occupation’ status.
