“Rents in Dubai are going to go down”, so the experts were telling us at the start of the year - with estimates of an average price drop of 10 per cent by the end of 2015.
But ask any Dubai-based friends in your social group about their rent and the great price drop in the emirate may not be happening as fast as they’d like - if at all.
According to a new survey from MoveSouq.com, a Dubai-based comparison site for home services, 82 per cent of Dubai residents said they have experienced an increase in their rental costs when they last renewed their rental contracts.
So, perhaps the drop in rental prices - which tenants were looking forward to so enthusiastically - is not going to plan.
Anecdotally, I'm yet to meet a tenant who can proclaim shaving even a dirham off their tenancy contract. And fans of The National's Homefront column - where property expert Mario Volpi solves readers' housing woes - will know that some landlords will still go to extraordinary lengths to wring every last fil out of their tenants.
However, look a little more closely at the MoveSouq.com survey results and the news is a little more promising. Those that renewed their lease less than three months ago experienced a smaller rate of increase than those who renewed six to 12 months ago. So in theory, rents are still going up but not as quickly.
It ties in with CBRE’s Dubai market overview for the first quarter of 2015, which showed that housing rents in the emirate remained stable for the third quarter in a row - with some areas experiencing minor falls in rental prices and others experiencing minor rises.
According to the MoveSouq.com survey, 63 per cent of those polled plan to move when they next renew their lease - a figure that rises the higher their rent is.
Then again, the poll only surveyed around 200 residents - so it’s a little like asking your friends what they think.
arayer@thenational.ae
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