DUBAI // Steadily falling rents across Dubai are spurring a population shift to residential developments in the city that were considered unaffordable less than a year ago, property analysts and residents say.
Residents who had opted for inexpensive housing in areas such as Dubai's International City, Sharjah and even Al Ain are now moving to Dubai Marina and other central areas. Families in two-bedroom flats are searching for three- and four-bedroom villas in upmarket places such as Umm Suqeim and The Springs.
The shift represents an effective reversal of nearly a decade of climbing rents that drove people in search of inexpensive housing to the outskirts of Dubai and into neighbouring emirates.
"This is the ultimate flight to quality," said Blair Hagkull, the Middle East and North Africa managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle, an international commercial property firm.
"Before, as things became more expensive, people tended to move further out. But as things become more affordable, people start to have choice and choice is a very powerful motivator. When you're talking about real estate it's not just a commodity; it is where people live, work and play and ultimately it's central to their lives."
According to Landmark Advisory, a property consultancy firm, rents have fallen significantly in all categories.
Deflating prices are also bringing about a change in the bargaining power between landlords and tenants, said Jesse Downs, the head of research at Landmark Advisory.
Whereas landlords could demand a full year's rent eight months ago, tenants are now paying month to month and asking for extra clauses such as 60-day lease terminations.
There is also speculation that rents could fall further as waves of families move back to their home countries after the school year.
"It's hard to quantify it right now," Ms Downs said, "but my feeling is that in July there will be additional downwards price pressure as schools let out and families make that decision to go home."
The prospect for further declines is already persuading some landlords to take their properties off the market, she said.
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Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
