Apartment rents on the rise in Abu Dhabi

Almost half of Abu Dhabi communities saw increases in asking rents for apartments in the second and third quarters of 2017, while rents in other parts of the emirate fell, according to new statistics from Propertyfinder Group.

“Abu Dhabi apartments for rent are a tale of two cities,” said Lukman Hajje, chief commercial officer of Propertyfinder Group. “Almost half of the tracked apartment communities experienced increases in their asking rents over the past six months [Q2 and Q3 2017].”

Among the most notable increases were in Mohamed bin Zayed City (13.8 percent), Al Mushrif (12.8 percent) and Electra Street (8 percent). Hajje noted that all are non-freehold areas and relatively affordable communities with limited stock, in which media prices are not indicative of a market recovery.

Rents, however, fell in other parts of the city, including the Corniche Area (-7.8 percent), Al Ghadeer (-7.7 percent), Al Raha Beach (-6.6 percent), Al Reem Island (-5 percent), and Al Bateen (-4.7 percent).

Asking prices for villas in Abu Dhabi continued to decline, with Al Salam Street (-12 percent), Al Reef (-7.7 percent) and Al Raha Gardens (-5.9 percent) seeing the largest falls in prices over the two quarters. Only one community, Al Raha Golf Gardens, saw an increase (3 percent).

Mohammed bin Zayed city remains the most affordable place to rent a villa in Abu Dhabi (AED 44 per square foot), followed by Khalifa City (AED 47 per square foot) and Hydra Village (AED 49 per square foot).

The most expensive area, by far, was Saadiyat Island, with an average asking price of AED 73 per square foot, followed by Al Raha Golf Gardens (AED 60 per square foot).

Arabian Business.com Contribution Time: 15-Feb-2018 09:53 (GMT)
Arabian Business.com Last Update Time: 15-Feb-2018 09:53 (GMT)