Dubai: An updated rental index is due to be released at the beginning of April and is aimed at making the market more realistic, according to officials at Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera).
"The index will be out at the beginning of April. We cannot do it based on one study as rents are dropping at different rates," said Marwan Bin Galita, chief executive of Rera.
The revised rental index will be completed once all the new tenancy contracts have been signed for the current year and registered on Rera's Ejari website. Once this has been done, it will be clear who is paying what rents in specific areas of Dubai.
There are 209 real estate management companies registered under the Ejari system and 2,822 registered lease contracts, according to Rera figures.
The first rental index was released at the end of last year and caused uproar and confusion among tenants who were left watching as their landlords hiked their rents.
It later became clear that the rental index was not entirely relevant as the average rental rates quoted in it were based on last year's rents, before the financial crisis hit, causing rents to plummet.
Those tenants who have not yet renewed their contracts are now likely to sit on their contracts until the new index is released, hopeful of a decrease in their area.
With rents dropping across the board however, it is now much easier and more affordable to find property at a good rate.
Tenants can breathe a sigh of relief as it is likely the new index will be more in line with current market rates.
"The good thing is tenants can now find affordable units," Bin Galita said.
Whereas in the first rental index, the average rent for a two-bed villa in the Springs was Dh190,000-Dh230,000, these same villas can now be snapped up for Dh85,000 by those lucky enough to strike a bargain. Studios in International City, according to the first index have an average rate of Dh45,000 to Dh55,000 and can now be found for as low as Dh30,000.
While this may be frustrating for tenants already committed to a contract, for those still looking around, now is a very good time to rent.
- 209 real estate firms currently registered with Rera
- 2,822 lease contracts registered with Rera
- 30,000 dirhams is the rent for some studios in Dubai
