The cost of housing is back on the agenda in Dubai, as an increasing number of statistics point towards rapidly rising sale prices and rents. As the emirate gears up for one of the largest Cityscape exhibitions in years, the rapidly rising cost of renting and owning property in Dubai, particularly in the residential sector, is leading many commentators to question whether another bubble is developing.
Jones Lang LaSalle reported last week that house prices in the emirate rose by an average of 17.9 per cent over the year to the end of August, while it estimates that population and employment growth increased by just 5 per cent over the same period. Jones Lang described such growth as unsustainable, and warned that there could be a correction within the next 12 months.
A survey carried out by Knight Frank in the first quarter of 2013 found that Dubai’s prime rental market was the fastest growing in the world, with a year on year growth of 18.3 per cent, compared with 1.9 per cent in Singapore, and falls of 2.3 and 3.1 per cent for Hong Kong and London.
However, a survey published last month by the international property adviser Savills offers an alternative viewpoint, which may offer more comforting news for Dubai as it continues to seek to attract foreign businesses to its shores.
Savills’ “value for money” ranking, part of its World Cities Report, surveyed 10 leading business centres, measuring accommodation costs against GDP per head, as an indicator income potential for businesses located in the city.
Using this formula, Singapore was deemed to be the best value for money city of the 10 centres surveyed, despite its comparatively high commercial and residential rents, followed by Sydney, Moscow and New York. Mumbai, where costs were just over half of those of Singapore, came in last in the survey in terms of value for money.
“The value of real estate is higher where more corporate revenue can be generated,” said Yolande Barnes, director of residential research at Savills. “In other words, it is worth paying more to accommodate an executive team in Singapore with its high GDP than in the low GDP Mumbai.”
Using such criteria, Dubai and the UAE continue to rank as attractive options for international businesses, thanks to the country’s relatively small but growing population, and an economy showing strong signs of growth. The UAE’s economy is forecast to grow by 3.95 per cent this year, according to a composite of economic forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, comparing favourably with markets such as Singapore (2.6 per cent) and Hong Kong (3 per cent).
At the emirate level, Dubai’s GDP is forecast to grow by 3.9 per cent during 2013, according to Emirates NBD.
And the UAE ranked 26th in the World Bank’s Doing Business report for 2012, second only to Saudi Arabia, topping the Middle East for starting a business, getting electricity, registering a property and trading across borders.
While such factors mean the outlook for Dubai and the UAE remains positive, challenges remain for businesses and employees, with large commercial and residential rental increases in the past 12 months.
On the one hand, businesses looking to set up or expand in Dubai can still take advantage of commercial rents far below those reached at the tail end of the emirate’s boom years. A report last week from the property broker Asteco found that commercial rents are still on average 66 per cent below the peak rates paid in September 2008.
However office rents are on the up again, with office space in growth districts such as Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Tecom C up 110 per cent and 82 per cent year on year. Average commercial rents across Dubai grew 43 per cent during the year, according to Asteco.
Of greater concern perhaps is the continuing rise in residential rents across the city. Rental rates for apartments and villas in Dubai were up 23 and 19 per cent year on year respectively, Asteco’s report found, with rents rising fastest in areas such as International City, JLT, the Springs and Mirdif. While rental rates for both apartments and villas rents are still below the heights of 2008’s third quarter, the gap has narrowed to 38 and 31 per cent respectively.
Dubai’s commercial and residential rental rates are widely forecast to keep on rising, with prices pushed up by Dubai’s continuing economic recovery.
The emirate’s economic recovery, however, will not result in salary increases in line with the increases in rents, according to research published by Hay Group last month.
In the midst of Dubai’s recovery, companies are hiring like never before, according to Hay Group. Of the 270,000 employees surveyed for the consultancy’s UAE Compensation and Benefits Report, 44,000 had begun work for a new company in the past 12 months, as compared with 34,000 last year.
Yet the company found that a sizeable number of new arrivals in Dubai come from western countries with stagnant economies, with lower salary expectations than expatriates from growth economies in Asia.
As a result, salaries grew on average by 4.4 per cent in 2013, compared with 4.9 per cent in 2012. Although salaries are forecast to increase by an average of 5 per cent next year, increasing inflationary pressures in areas such as health care and education are likely to limit any growth in disposable income.
jeverington@thenational.ae
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
INDIA SQUAD
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERooh%20Afza%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20contains%20414%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETang%20orange%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECarob%20beverage%20mix%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20about%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQamar%20Al%20Din%20apricot%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20saving%20contains%2061%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVimto%20fruit%20squash%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%2030%20calories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
