UAE real estate sees 'early signs of confidence' in Q2

Monday, 20 April 2009 11:12 AM

A UAE real estate research company on Monday said it was seeing "early signs of renewed confidence" in the UAE property market.

“For both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, positive signs of early recovery are emerging. Property listings are drying up as owners increasingly prefer to hold their properties for the medium- to long-term, instead of discounting prices further just to attract immediate buyers," said Jesse Downs director of research and advisory services, Landmark Advisory.

"More owners are choosing to lease their properties as a cash-generating alternative to selling,” she said at the launch of the company's Dubai & Abu Dhabi Real Estate Report for the second quarter of this year. According to Landmark Advisory, average prices in Dubai during the first quarter decreased 23 percent for apartments and 32 percent for villas, compared to the last quarter of 2008.

Average leasing rates for apartments decreased 4 percent in Q1, with one-bedroom apartments declining the most, at 11 percent.

Average villa rents declined by 17 percent, but the number of villa rentals increased by 26 percent.

“The leasing market in Dubai is still strong, showing continued interest from internal relocations and excess demand from Abu Dhabi," said Downs.

"The future of sale prices and transaction volumes will depend largely on the evolution of lending policies and demographic changes over the next four months. In terms of population, additional outflows are likely to coincide with the end of the school year,” she added.

In Abu Dhabi, sale price declines accelerated during the first quarter of 2009, after falling by 5-15 percent in at the end of last year.

Secondary market listing prices fell up to 20 percent for apartments and 25-30 percent for villas.

However, by the beginning of the second quarter, sale prices started to stabilise as sellers slowed the pace of price-cutting, according to the report.

The report shows that Abu Dhabi’s rental market has also stabilised. After sky-rocketing in 2008, some rents have begun to show signs of a marginal correction.

On average, rents for apartments remained stable during Q1, but villa rents, decreased 10-15 percent, with listed rents on four-bedroom units falling the most, at 20 percent.

Downs said: “Abu Dhabi’s sale prices are starting to stabilise, indicating improved market confidence. The buyer-profile is changing: end-users are replacing investors as the predominant owners of freehold property."

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Posted by: MANO Wednesday, 22 April 2009 6:09 PM[UAE] - UAE

biggest impact on property is roumers from brokers for their own interest and commission should control on broker who are offering crazy prices without asking sellers and as its not their own stock and they are not from uae or from asia they just care for their profit,,,,, please try to control them

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Posted by: Dan Wednesday, 22 April 2009 2:21 AM[UAE] - Sweden

Dubai house prices could fall as much as 70 per cent from a fourth-quarter peak as investors are unlikely to consider re-entering the market, which faces significant oversupply by next year, UBS said on Tuesday. ?In our view we are still in relatively early stages of the property down cycle in the UAE,? the bank said in a research note. ?We believe risk-reward profiles are not yet compelling for investors to consider market re-entry hence continued price declines are expected.? UBS said Dubai?s population was likely to fall 10 per cent in the coming two years as a result of job cuts, with residential vacancy rates reaching as much as 30 per cent by the end of 2010 due to an oversupply.

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Posted by: paul Tuesday, 21 April 2009 12:30 PM[UAE] - UAE

Up until it crashed these same 'researchers' were busy telling us prices would definitely not crash. Now they busy themselves telling us that prices will stop falling soon. The UAE followed the US and UK into this global crash, and it will follow them out. There will be no recovery in this country's market until well after the UK and US come out of this. At the moment the US and UK are still falling, so there is no prospect whatsoever of a swift recovery here. All the local talk about the UAE being the first to recover is just wishful thinking from the same people who told us it would not crash in the first place. UK house prices are down about 25% over 18 months, the UAE has fallen around 50% in 6 months. That does not indicate that things are better here, it indicates that things are significantly worse. Anyone expecting a quick recovery is deluding themselves. What will they do when it does not arrive as promised? It is a dangerous game to play, making promises that you cannot keep.

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Posted by: Zia Tuesday, 21 April 2009 10:08 AM[UAE] - UAE

Looks like real estate companies have now started Day Dreaming. Guys wake to the reality that market is in a free fall. Jobs are cutting and yesterday only one of the companies in Dubai terminated 40 people and will cease all operations by end of April. So wake up all real estate guys......

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Posted by: gamby Tuesday, 21 April 2009 9:39 AM[UAE]

with the real estate as the greatly affected by the global crisis. they won't stop making ridiculous predictions just to push the confidence in the RE market...but sorry they can't fool the investors anymore they need miracle to at least push the market a BIT from its spiralling downward trend. on the other hand most of the basic needs are hiking up the prices, check your grocery bills... this is a sign of the business trying to get back in business after losing a lot. I said, hold on to your cash (watch your spending, a worst is yet to come before the end of Q2), spend less and if not necessary change attitude from DO BUY to DON'T BUY. Boycott unreasonable price increase!

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