Property News · April 19, 2016

Dubai rents and house prices continue to soften



The price of houses in Dubai fell by 10 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, but are now reaching the bottom of the market, according to consultancy JLL.The consultancy said in its Real Estate Market Overview that the market has continued to soften due to the continuing strength of the US dollar and lower oil prices, which has weakened the purchasing power of buyers across the region.
Apartment rentals fell 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, while sales were down 2 per cent during the three month period. For villas, sale prices were flat, while rents were down 1 per cent for the first quarter.Rents also fell by 5 per cent year-on-year as more new stock came onto the market. Some 2,200 homes were handed over in the first quarter and a further 27,000 units are due for completion over the next nine months.
Despite this, JLL said the long term prospects for the market remained healthy, citing Emaar Properties’ recent announcement of a tower higher than Burj Khalifa and over 11 million square metres of new retail property within the Dubai Creek Harbour project as examples of positive market sentiment. Craig Plumb, the head of research for JLL Mena, said: “While the short-to-medium term outlook for the Dubai real estate market is less encouraging, we remain positive on the long term outlook due to future growth and demand drivers like the Expo 2020 and other mega infrastructure developments.”
The report also said that Dubai’s office market remained split, with rents holding up for Grade A office space due to a lack of quality space, but secondary rents softening as supply continues to grow. It is expected that 269,000 square metres of new office space will come to the market this year — up from 137,800 sq m in 2015.”The office market continues to be the worst performing sector and has been has been stuck at the bottom of the cycle for a number of years,” said Mr Plumb. “Nevertheless, we are witnessing some select activity and momentum for Grade A office buildings which continue to generate strong demand.”
mfahy@thenational.aeFollow The National’s Business section on Twitter

Source : thenational.ae
Read more…Dubai rents and house prices continue to soften

You may also like...