EXCLUSIVE: Dubai rents drop in new RERA index

Apartment rents in Dubai have fallen in many areas of the city in the past six months, according to the latest guidelines published by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), Arabian Business can reveal.

Minimum rental values have dropped by as much as nearly 30 percent in RERA's updated index for tenants and landlords which was last published in April.

However the rate of decline in values has slowed compared to the fall between the December 2008 and April 2009 RERA indices, when rents dropped by up to 50 percent in some areas.

A studio apartment in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) is among the sharpest fallers with rental guides for October between AED40-70,000, compared to a minimum of AED60,000 in April.

Rents have also fallen by at least 10 percent for some apartment types in the Downtown area, the Greens, Palm Jumeirah, Al Barsha and Jumeirah Beach Residence, according to Arabian Business calculations taken from the RETRA website on Thursday.

But, a different story seems to have emerged regarding villa rents with many areas of Dubai holding their rental values compared to April, or even increasing them.

Fore example, RERA's rental guide for a three-bed villa on Palm Jumeirah in April was AED250-280,000 but this figure has now risen to AED270-300,000. Meanwhile, villa rents in the Springs, Meadows and Umm Suqeim were unchanged, compared to the previous RERA index.

Earlier this week, an Asteco report showed that rental values for apartments in Dubai continued to fall faster than in any other part of the UAE during the third quarter of 2009.

Three-bed homes were worst hit as they plummeted 13 percent between July and September, the report said.

Dubai also saw the largest drop in rent for two-bed apartments with values down eight percent, Asteco added.

In June, Landmark Advisory said that it expectsed further decreases in Dubai rents for the third quarter but that there were signs that rents are stabilising. Apartment rent examples from the RERA website:

The rent for a studio apartment in International City is in the range AED30-35,000 per year, compared to AED35-45,000 in April.

The rent for a one bedroom apartment in Discovery Gardens is in the range AED55-65,000 per year, compared to AED60-70,000 in April.

The rent for a one bedroom apartment in Dubai Tower/Down Town is in the range AED70-110,000 per year, compared to AED100-165,000 in April.

The rent for a two bedroom apartment in Greens is in the range AED100-130,000 per year, compared to AED120-140,000 in April.

The rent for a studio apartment in JLT is in the range AED40-70,000 per year, compared to AED60-70,000 in April.

The rent for a two bedroom apartment in Palm Jumeirah is in the range AED130-165,000 per year, compared to AED160-200,000 in April.

The rent for a one bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina is in the range AED70-110,000 per year, compared to AED80-120,000 in April.

The rent for a two bedroom apartment in Al Barsha is in the range AED75-90,000 per year, compared to AED95-115,000 in April.

The rent for a one bedroom apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence is in the range AED80-100,000 per year, compared to AED100-125,000 in April.

The rent for a studio apartment in Mirdiff is in the range AED35-45,000 per year, compared to AED45-65,000 in April.

Villa rent examples:

The rent for a three bedroom villa in Palm Jumeirah is in the range AED270-300,000 per year, compared to AED250-280,000 in April.

The rent for a four bedroom villa in Arabian Ranches is in the range AED200-240,000 per year, compared to AED220-250,000 in April.

The rent for a three bedroom villa in Springs is in the range AED140-160,000 per year, unchanged from April.

The rent for a four bedroom villa in Meadows is in the range AED220-240,000 per year, unchanged from April.

The rent for a five bedroom villa in Umm Suqeim is in the range AED290-360,000 per year, unchanged from April.