Dubai, Doha office rents to soar 20%

Office rents in Dubai and Doha are likely to rise about 20% during the next year as demand outpaces supply and international businesses expand in the Gulf, said property services company CB Richard Ellis.

The highest quality offices in Dubai cost as much as 500 dirhams ($136.2) per square foot, said Nicholas Maclean, managing director for Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis in the Middle East.

That could rise to 600 dirhams per square foot during the next year to 18 months, Maclean told newswire Reuters in Dubai yesterday.

After that, prices will probably halve to about 300 dirhams per square foot in five to six years as more supply comes into the market, Maclean said.

"There's just not enough supply," Maclean said. "It's not good for business, it's not good for the government."

Demand in the Qatari capital, Doha, is growing as oil and gas companies expand and the government seeks new space, Maclean said. Prices are lower than in Dubai, but the trends are the same, he said.

Cities in India, Egypt and the Philippines are benefiting from the rising costs as businesses look to them to provide back-office operations, Maclean said.

Office space in Dubai is likely to more than triple 100 million square feet during the next five to six years, from 30 million now, Maclean said. (Reuters)

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