The real estate markets of the two main emirates of the UAE exhibited differing trends over the course of November 2016. While the pleasant weather and cool breeze apparently had a galvanizing effect on the Dubai realty market, things seemed to be cooling down in neighbouring Abu Dhabi.

Bayut.com noticed an upward movement of both rents and prices of apartments in Dubai, but apartments in Abu Dhabi underwent minor drops in both categories. The real estate market in Dubai has been buoyed by a spate of recent project launches by noted names in the industry, a development that has stirred up interest in the market once again. Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, has not seen similar activity, resulting in a more stable market.

While the beautiful weather was the obvious talk of the town throughout November, improvements in rentals and prices of apartments doubled the glee for landlords.

Collectively, average apartment rent climbed to AED 127,000 in November, exhibiting a 2% increase over the average rental value in both October and Q3 2016. Average apartment prices increased by 1% compared to October 2016, and by 0.3% against the Q3 value, having a slight effect on the average yield, which was recorded at 5.7%.

Popular apartment renting localities

Dubai Marina

Bur Dubai

Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)

Downtown Dubai

Dubai Silicon Oasis

Popular apartment buying localities

Dubai Marina

Downtown Dubai

Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)

Business Bay

Dubai Silicon Oasis

The real estate market in the UAE capital had a stable month in November 2016 owing to a limited supply pipeline. At AED 129,000, there was a small month-on-month drop of 1% in average apartment rents in November, and a similarly negligible drop when considered against the average apartment rent in Q3. Overall, the average yield stayed stable at 6.75%.

Rent for studio units in the emirate took a hit, dropping to an average of AED 54,000 from October’s AED 58,000. Average rental yield for the category also dropped to 7.4% from the previous month’s 8%.

At AED 90,000, the average rent for 1-bedroom apartments was down a small 2% from the October average, but the value was the same as the Q3 average. The average rental yield remained close to 7%.

Average rents for both 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments were down 3% in November, falling to AED 126,000 and AED 168,000, respectively. However, the rental yields for both categories remained attractive at 6.8% and 6.4%, in that order.

The average rent for the 4+ bedroom category dropped 7% compared to the October value and 2% compared to the Q3 average, landing on AED 236,000 in November. However, the category still offered a lucrative yield of 5.4%.

Popular apartment renting localities

Al Reem Island

Khalifa City A

Corniche Area

Al Raha Beach

Al Khalidiyah

Popular apartment buying localities

Al Reem Island

Al Raha Beach

Al Reef

Saadiyat Island

Al Ghadeer

Our Take

With the prices and rental values in Dubai’s real estate market making a marginal but steady recovery, the odds seem to be in the emirate’s favour. Riding high on its diverse economic portfolio, enviable lifestyle, its position as the regional business hub and its continuous utilisation of technology for socio-economic improvements, Dubai remains an international powerhouse sitting high on the global business and expat communities’ priority lists.

And despite a relatively stable month, Abu Dhabi continues to offer fierce competition to its neighbour on all economic fronts, including the real estate industry. Having ably coursed its way through the oil price and liquidity crunch, the UAE real estate market is much more prepared to negotiate crises small and large, and heading towards a level of maturity that invites long-term investor indulgence.

< Prev		Next >