Dubai: Abu Dhabi expects about 22,100 new residential units to come online over the next three years, though the emirate will continue to face a housing undersupply, according to a study by Abu Dhabi's Urban Planning Council, or the UPC.
"Despite the high level of new supply expected to come onto the market, it is expected that total demand will still exceed total supply in the residential sector," Saud Al Junaibi, director of development and urban planning at the UPC, said in a presentation on Tuesday at a seminar organised by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, the department said in a statement. The UPC also forecasts that there is a current supply deficit of 48,400 residential units in Abu Dhabi, which will decrease to about 26,300 units by 2013, the statement says, citing Al Junaibi's report.
Office space
In the office space sector, supply will come online faster than demand, according to the report. About 3.6 million square metres of office space will be available by the end of 2013, compared with expected demand for 3.5 million square metres, it said.
Meanwhile, there's a need for 700,000 square metres of retail real estate to meet demand in that sector, while the hotels sector is "relatively balanced" but set for an oversupply, the report said.
"It is expected that this sector will see an oversupply scenario, with total supply of 26,500 hotel rooms by 2013 as compared to demand for 19,700 rooms," the report said.
A supply crunch in recent years has kept real estate prices high in Abu Dhabi.
