Property experts across Gulf call for RERA-like index

Property experts across the Gulf on Thursday called for the introduction of a rental index similar to Dubai’s, as values plummet across the region.

Dubai’s property watchdog RERA (The Real Estate Regulatory Authority) has updated its rental guidelines in the face of massive industry pressure to create greater transparency and reflect values at current market levels, which have declined by up to 50 percent amid the downturn.

Experts in Kuwait and Qatar have broadly welcomed an index in their countries, saying any guidelines on rents would increase transparency.

“It would be a good thing. The more transparency and hard data in the market the better," said Reg Barichievy, general manager of property consultant Colliers International in Qatar.

Qatar’s property market has cooled rapidly in the last few months with a liquidity drought pushing land prices down by 30 percent to 35 percent and apartment prices by 30 percent, according to Colliers.

Raghu Mandagolathur, analyst at Kuwaiti investment bank Markaz said rents had fallen in Kuwait, but refused to say by how much.

Compiling an index would be made easier because rents were one of the components used by the Central Bank of Kuwait to set inflation, he said.

“Rents are definitely falling - an index would be useful,” he added.

Earlier in the week, a Markaz report on investment in the GCC, said rents were likely to fall in Kuwait because of the continued liquidity squeeze.

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