Abu Dhabi's Khalifa City has become the most searched for rental neighbourhood in the capital new research has found.
Khalifa City accounted for 18 per cent of all rental searches in Abu Dhabi during the first quarter of the year, according to the UAE property website propertyfinder.ae, as tenants in the capital seek out more affordable neighbourhoods.
Khalifa City, located on the Abu Dhabi mainland has long been seen by residents as a cheaper alternative to living in the city centre and has attracted droves of teachers working in the many nearby schools.
But last year’s decision by the government to remove a rent cap in Abu Dhabi coupled with a decree requiring all Abu Dhabi government employees to live in the emirate to qualify for housing allowance, has increased the area’s popularity.
“Whilst high rents in the capital have always been a concern for residents, the recent removal of the rental cap has caused rents to rise further,” said Bharat Kumar, the marketing director for propertyfinder.ae. “Up until the beginning of 2013, rents in Abu Dhabi were traditionally considered to be higher than those in Dubai. However, the price gap between the two emirates has now narrowed.”
Khalifa City beat Reem Island, last year's most searched rental location, into second place in Abu Dhabi where it accounted for 16.5 per cent of all searches.
Another of the capital’s typically cheaper locations, Al Reef, came third with 8.4 per cent of all Abu Dhabi searches, followed by Raha Beach, Khalidiya, Airport Road, the Corniche and Mohammed Bin Zayed City.
At the same time Dubai Marina remained by far the most searched rental location in Dubai, accounting for 17 per cent of the city’s rental searches – keeping it in the same position as last year.
Downtown Dubai was the second most searched location, accounting for 7.7 per cent of Dubai searches. It was followed by Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubailand, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Village Circle and The Springs.
Researchers found that the highest number of rental searchs were made for properties costing between Dh80,000 and Dh100,000 annually, which accounted for 12.2 per cent of all searches.
Properties costing between Dh120,000 and Dh140,000 a year came in second, accounting for another 10.3 per cent of searches.
Searches for properties costing between Dh40,000 and Dh60,000 fell to eighth place, accounting for just 6.5 per cent, down from fourth place in the first quarter last year..
Reem Island in Abu Dhabi was the most searched location for those looking to buy in Abu Dhabi, accounting for 28.1 per cent of all searches. It was followed by Al Reef, which accounted for 16.2 per cent.
Dubai Marina was Dubai’s most searched location for potential buyers, accounting for 18.6 per cent of searchs. It was followed by Downtown Dubai, which accounted for another 10.6 per cent.
The research was based on the searches of more than 2 million users, who visited the site during the first three months of the year, looking at about 300,000 listed properties for sale and rent across the UAE.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
MATCH INFO
Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)
Delhi won the match by 11 runs
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
