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Discuss this article (15 Comments)Dubai's office rents second highest in EMEA region
by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Tuesday, 14 July 2009
HIGH RENT: Dubai office rents are due to fall this year, according to the CBRE report. (Getty Images)
Office rents in Dubai are the second highest in the EMEA region, behind London's West End, a new report found on Tuesday.
At $1388 per sq metre, the emirate's office market has been resilient amid the fallout from the global crisis, ranking behind London's in-demand West End where average office rents were $1421 per sq metre, property adviser CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said in its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Office MarketView Q1 2009 report.
Moscow, Paris and St Petersburg were found to have the next three strongest office markets in the region, the report showed.
However, with increased supply entering the Dubai market this year, the report predicted that rents will continue to fall as landlords compete to secure tenants and demand weakens in the wake of the economic downturn.
Average prime office rates fell by 18.2 percent in the last three months, the report said.
Rents have already dropped "across the board" in Dubai - particularly in office buildings in TECOM and Jumeirah Lake Towers, CBRE said.
In Abu Dhabi, occupiers were pulling back from commitments to new Grade A space because of uncertainty over the economy, the report added.
The office market in Bahrain is oversupplied, with demand from the banking sector - a major driver of commercial property market - likely to have weakened.
Richard Holberton, director of EMEA research at CBRE, said: "Landlords are finding it increasingly difficult to lease vacant space, given the understandable caution being expressed by most occupiers at present.
"With those occupiers requiring space driving a hard bargain, and increasing choice available in the market, it is inevitable that we will see further weakening in rents and an increase in leasing incentives in most markets over the coming months," he added.
READERS' COMMENTS
Disclaimer: The views expressed here by our readers are not necessarily shared by ArabianBusiness.com or its employees.
Office Rents
Posted by Shawn Barnett on Sunday 19 July 2009 at 08:52 UAE time
CBRE seems to have got it all wrong again. The office rents are more expensive in Abu Dhabi as compared to Dubai. We have just set up office and you can get an office in prime location at half the price of what we are paying in Abu Dhabi. Certainly Dubai even throws in covered parking, which is lacking in AD.
Posted by Shawn Barnett on Sunday 19 July 2009 at 08:52 UAE time
CBRE seems to have got it all wrong again. The office rents are more expensive in Abu Dhabi as compared to Dubai. We have just set up office and you can get an office in prime location at half the price of what we are paying in Abu Dhabi. Certainly Dubai even throws in covered parking, which is lacking in AD.
@ Faisal - Dubai bashing
Posted by DAG, UAE on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 10:06 UAE time
Quote: "Before the global crisis hit us all, we hardly saw any criticism of Dubai. Everyone was showering praise of the city and its leadership.
Now that times are tough, Dubai-bashing seems to have become a hobby for many people"
Faisal, If you can go back 2-3 years through these reader's comments, you will see that people were in fact complaining (Dubai bashing as you call it). People were stating way back then, that the high rents were unjustified, unsustainable and that they would be forced to send their families back or leave altogether. Even the government were trying to put a cap on it.
It's very convenient to blame the problem here on the 'global crisis', but the profiteering in the property market is, until now a major factor in the downturn in Dubai.
So please understand that we are not 'biting the hand that feeds us' rather we are trying to save the city that we have chosen live and work in.
Posted by DAG, UAE on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 10:06 UAE time
Quote: "Before the global crisis hit us all, we hardly saw any criticism of Dubai. Everyone was showering praise of the city and its leadership.
Now that times are tough, Dubai-bashing seems to have become a hobby for many people"
Faisal, If you can go back 2-3 years through these reader's comments, you will see that people were in fact complaining (Dubai bashing as you call it). People were stating way back then, that the high rents were unjustified, unsustainable and that they would be forced to send their families back or leave altogether. Even the government were trying to put a cap on it.
It's very convenient to blame the problem here on the 'global crisis', but the profiteering in the property market is, until now a major factor in the downturn in Dubai.
So please understand that we are not 'biting the hand that feeds us' rather we are trying to save the city that we have chosen live and work in.
Constructive criticism is not same as ingratitude
Posted by Ali, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 09:33 UAE time
Faisal, its obvious we have different perspectives on this issue. Yes, we love Dubai, however for some people, loving Dubai means denying any negative points.
So if you think complaining about RTA non-existent fines or shut-down Emaar pools, or about high rents is Dubai-bashing or is akin to "biting the hand that feeds us", then you are absolutely wrong.
We cheer Dubai's achievements and point out the deficiences as we want Dubai to improve !
Blind cheerleading is more of sycophants trying to brown-nose than a form of gratitude
Posted by Ali, Dubai, UAE on Thursday 16 July 2009 at 09:33 UAE time
Faisal, its obvious we have different perspectives on this issue. Yes, we love Dubai, however for some people, loving Dubai means denying any negative points.
So if you think complaining about RTA non-existent fines or shut-down Emaar pools, or about high rents is Dubai-bashing or is akin to "biting the hand that feeds us", then you are absolutely wrong.
We cheer Dubai's achievements and point out the deficiences as we want Dubai to improve !
Blind cheerleading is more of sycophants trying to brown-nose than a form of gratitude
Dubai-bashing
Posted by Faisal on Wednesday 15 July 2009 at 15:47 UAE time
Before the global crisis hit us all, we hardly saw any criticism of Dubai. Everyone was showering praise of the city and its leadership.
Now that times are tough, Dubai-bashing seems to have become a hobby for many people.
Dubai is not perfect - it never was. Nor is any other city on the face of this earth. Every city has a bright side, and a dark side. As cities grow and evolve, they learn from their mistakes and try to improve. So will Dubai.
If Dubai was such a horrible place to live, why, in the first place, did you leave your great cities to come to this land. And now that we chose this city as our second home, should we not stand by it and help it ride out the difficult times?
Why bite the hand that feeds you?
Posted by Faisal on Wednesday 15 July 2009 at 15:47 UAE time
Before the global crisis hit us all, we hardly saw any criticism of Dubai. Everyone was showering praise of the city and its leadership.
Now that times are tough, Dubai-bashing seems to have become a hobby for many people.
Dubai is not perfect - it never was. Nor is any other city on the face of this earth. Every city has a bright side, and a dark side. As cities grow and evolve, they learn from their mistakes and try to improve. So will Dubai.
If Dubai was such a horrible place to live, why, in the first place, did you leave your great cities to come to this land. And now that we chose this city as our second home, should we not stand by it and help it ride out the difficult times?
Why bite the hand that feeds you?
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