Even after a choice of commercial and residential units in the real estate market, the year 2007 witnessed a hike in property rents in the emirates of Dubai and Sharjah. So much so that it is weighing quite heavily on tenants in the light of inflation rates of essential commodities as well. Real estate analysts believe there will be little respite, if any, in the rising rentals in the coming year.
If one looks at the wider market scenario, there has been practically no cooling down in the number of people drawing to the UAE for jobs. Therefore, the real estate market has not witnessed a downfall in demand in spite of rising rental rates. Even an emirate like Sharjah is at par with Dubai today when it comes to rental costs.
Some Statistical Facts
In Sharjah, a 2-bedroom flat in a newly-built building that has a variety of health and recreational facilities costs about 70,000 AED to 75,000 AED. On the other hand, a similar flat without the afore-mentioned facilities is available for something like 50,000 AED. Likewise, a 1-bedroom flat in a building with state of the art facilities costs anything between 45,000 AED to 50,000 AED.
In Dubai, a studio apartment in a prime location is available for 55,000 AED to 60,000 AED, whereas 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom flats in the same area can cost up to 68,000 AED to 80,000 AED. On the other hand, a beautiful villa in Dubai can be rented out for about 100,000 AED or even more! Still there are places left in Dubai where the rates are even higher.
Heartbreaks
Increasingly it is the expatriate portion of the population that has to bear the brunt of rising rents. Even after living in the UAE for decades, they cannot hope to live in a desired place. The main reason remains the same as ever – While rentals increase, salaries remain roughly the same over the years.
Singles’ Plight
Finding a good room at an affordable rent, even if it is a shared accommodation, is quite an ordeal for singles. In spite of a rent cap in most emirates, there is continued practice of flouting the norms by landlords.
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Emirates Update would love to receive your views on rising rentals in the emirates. Please post your comments below.
December 4, 2007 at 8:55 am
Those are the facts of life in Dubai. Though there are properties without tenants, real estate people would not let them be rented at lower rents to maintain the current prices. Well they have a business to run, and they will make sure prices do not get to reasonable level if they need to.
December 12, 2007 at 7:05 am
Most of the expats like me can’t really demand for a higher salary because of the tough competition. Thus, the housing rent is really a burden to us. It’s true that even if I’ve been working here for several years now, I still can’t live comfortably because half of my salary only goes to my accommodation.
Lucky for those who have a 5 digits salary and above, they can afford to live decently, with privacy & convenience.