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Abu Dhabi residential rentals soar

Abu Dhabi, April 9, 2014

Residential rentals in Abu Dhabi achieved significant growth during the first quarter of 2014, with an average rise of close to 10 per cent,  a new report said.

Housing units in off-island locations experienced higher rent growth at 14 per cent during the period, according to the latest Abu Dhabi MarketView by CBRE, a leading international real estate consultancy.

Mat Green, head of research & consultancy UAE, CBRE Middle East, said: “With affordability fast becoming a concern for many residents, there has been a steady rise in demand for more affordable housing options, with off-island locations such as Khalifa City A and Mohammed Bin Zayed City becoming popular choices for the more budget focused tenants. Units within master-planned developments in mainland locations, including Al Reef Downtown, Al Ghadeer and Hydra Village, are now commanding rentals that are significantly higher than similar non-community based properties.”

According to the CBRE report, two bedroom apartments within the Al Reef Downtown development currently range between Dh80,000 –105,000/unit/annum, while similar property types within the aforementioned mainland locations have rentals from Dh65,000-85,000/unit/annum.

“Annual rents for a typical two bedroom city centre apartment are now observed between Dh95,000–130,000/unit/annum, while similar residential units within prime developments have rentals between Dh150,000 –210,000. With most of Abu Dhabi’s prime residences having been completed within the past three years, rentals have actually remained relatively stable even after the removal of the rent cap,” said Green.

Residential sales rates have seen little movement during the quarter, typically ranging between Dh10,225– 15,070/ sq m for areas such as Al Raha Beach and Reem Island. However, with market conditions improving, CBRE anticipates escalating sales growth in the coming quarters amidst rising rentals and stronger demand.

“Abu Dhabi residential market looks set for a period of sustained price and rental growth. This follows on from 12 months of steady recovery during 2013,” said Green.

According to the report, the office market has enjoyed an upbeat start to 2014 with stronger commercial interest and more leasing transactions being completed. A total of 850,000 sq m of new office accommodation will be delivered over the next 24 months. This new supply is expected to maintain deflationary pressures in the secondary rentals market.

“The government and hydro-carbon sectors remain the principal demand generators for the office sector. A positive economic outlook is also fueling renewed investor appetite and rising business confidence across the capital,” said Green.

During Q1 2014, prime rents remained flat at Dh1,850/sq m/annum, with rentals typically falling in the range of Dh 1,600–2,100/sq m/annum. However, there were a few sub-let transactions during the quarter within select prime office buildings that took place between Dh2,000–2,200, it said.
 
In contrast to the relatively stable prime rental performance, secondary office products continue to slide with rentals falling by close to 2 per cent from the previous quarter.  Average annual rentals for a typical secondary office space are observed at Dh1,175/sq m/annum.  This is 6pc lower than during the same period 12 months ago, said CBRE.

“The contrasting performances of the prime and secondary office markets mirror the prevailing demand dynamic which is driven by occupier flight to quality.  It also highlights the negative impact of rapidly rising secondary stock levels which have been key in maintaining the trend of rental deflation for secondary accommodations,” further added Green.

New space requirements from professional services firms have played an important role in elevating overall office demand levels during the quarter.  Similarly, the recent growth in sectors such as finance, hospitality, aviation, healthcare and tourism, where companies a number of companies have been found to be upgrading or expanding their footprint due to new headcount requirements, noted the report.

“The commercial office market will remain quite fragmented in the short term with secondary accommodations likely to experience further rental deflation in the coming quarters.  However, we can expect the prime market to be more stable, but with future growth potential moving forward as the business environment continues to improve,” concluded Green. - TradeArabia News Service
 




Tags: abu dhabi | CBRE | Rentals |

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