Prices Reduce, Presenting Ample Opportunities For Renters And Investors – Bayut.com H1 2018 Report

The cost of renting and buying property in Dubai has decreased since H2 2017, but most price falls remain modest, according to the recently released H1 2018 market report of Bayut.com.

Rental highlights:

• Rental price decreases were modest for the most part, with a maximum average decrease of 10% in most areas, with the exception of 1-bed apartments in Deira which fell by 15.38%.

• Dubai Marina was the most popular for apartment rentals, with Marina Diamonds receiving the highest percentage of searches in the area.

Sales highlights:

• Prices dropped but decreases were modest.

• Dubai Marina was also the most popular for apartment sales, with Manchester Towers receiving the highest number of searches.

Apartment rentals

Apartment rentals witnessed some of the steepest falls of all sectors in H1 2018 as compared to H2 2017. After Deira, the next steepest price decrease was for 2-bed apartments in Dubai Sports City, which was 10.59%. Remaining decreases were between 2-9%.

Apartment sales

In Dubai Marina, decreases in sales prices were around the 5% mark for 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments.

Villa sales

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 5-bed villa remained the same at AED 4M. 2-bed villas in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) also remained stable at AED 2.4M.

Average prices in top areas

In Dubai Marina, which was the most popular area for apartment sales and rentals, the average cost for renting a 1-bed in the area was AED 87k. In sales, the price for a studio reached AED 850k.

For villas, the most popular area for rentals, was Mirdif, where the average price for a 3-bedroom property was AED 120k. In sales, Arabian Ranches was the most popular area, and the average price for a 3-bed villa fell by 6.25% to AED 3M.

Most popular sub-communities

In terms of the sub-communities, there were clear favourites among Bayut users. For example, searches for villas in Al Reem made up more than 30% of sales searches in Arabian Ranches.

European Cluster received the highest percentage of searches in Jumeirah Islands, with 54.44% of searches, followed by Mediterranean Cluster with 18.39%.

Al Reem was also the most popular in Arabian Ranches for renters, accounting for more than 40% of searches, and Jumeirah 1 was the most popular of the Jumeirahsub-communities. Legacy villas in Jumeirah Park received by far the highest volume of searches for both renters and buyers at more than 60%.

Popular off-plan projects

In the off-plan sector, there were also clear favourites among Bayut users looking to invest in Dubai. Sidra Villas was the most popular project in Dubai Hills Estate, accounting for 35.8% of searches. MAG 230 was the most searched development in City of Arabia.

In Damac’s high profile Akoya Oxygen development, Avencia was the most searched project. In Dubai South City, EMAAR South took the top spot, with 45.08% of all searches, followed closely by MAG Group’s MAG 5 Boulevard, which received 42.93%.

In Dubailand, Villanova was by far the most searched development, with 87.79% of searches, and in Mohammed bin Rashid City, District One was the most popular, receiving 41.4%.

Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut, said: “The average property price decreases in Dubai from H2 2017 are in line with what we foresaw last year. 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. The decreases in sales prices open up opportunities for buyers too.

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

Forecast for Q3 2018

Khan added: “The summer months tend to be busy with people looking to rent a different place and lines up well with a break in the school year. 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. 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.”