Dubai's crackdown on fake property listings hits its mark - and online portals feel the pinch

Dubai: Dubai’s crackdown on multiple - and fake - listings of properties for sale could be replicated on rental properties too, according to market sources.

“The Dubai Land Department can ensure complete transparency on rental property listings through digitizing issuance of rental certificates,” said Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fam Properties. “In one stroke, this can remove all of the multiple listings of the same property for rent by various brokers, and which only tarnishes the image of the property market.

“We believe it’s only a matter of time before rental property listings too come under strict rules.”

Why transparency in listings matters

Earlier this year, Dubai Land Department and RERA set out clear rules on the steps estate agents must take before advertising a property for sale online. This applies to offplan and ready homes alike.

This meant brokers had to fill up forms and, most important, there was strict limits on how many estate agents can advertise or list the same property online. Within days of the new rules being implemented, there was a drastic drop in listings across online channels featuring Dubai property for sale.

Gone for good were instances of the same property featuring multiple asking prices, which were put up based on brokers’ whims. (In the past all that they needed were approvals from the developer concerned to advertise/list their property.)

“If there were 1,000 odd properties showing up for sale in an area, it’s now down to a few 100s,” said Al Msaddi. “It shows the kind of impact the new rules on property listings for sale have had.”

What this adds up to is less distortion in the Dubai property market - and leading to better experience for buyers and sellers. It leads to fewer situations of a potential buyer being misled by faulty online ads of a property they might have plans to buy.

Rules backed by heavy fines

Estate agents had to clean up their acts with immediate effect of the rules coming into play. The penalties for not getting it right are heavy - Dh50,000 in fines and double that for repeat violations.

In the recent past, Dubai Land Department has issued statements talking about penalties being imposed on agencies for various acts of omission in following the rules and processes.

Apart from getting proper clearance from DLD before advertising a property, the concerned brokers have another task to fulfil if they manage to sell it. That is ensure any listing of that particular property online gets taken down within 90 days of the sale transaction.

Online property portals feel the pain

While Dubai real estate agents need to be extra careful in complying with the rules, online property portals too are feeling the impact. A drastic reduction in multiple listings means loss of revenue for online portals.

“The top two or three leading property portals can possibly absorb the impact, because the Dubai property sales market is still growing month-on-month,” said an agent. “But for any other portal, it will be difficult to remain a viable entity.”

There is already talk of a portal ceasing operations, and costing its promoters significant losses.

What the rule changes mean for online portals

With the number of property listings coming down, it has meant a drop in web traffic for the concerned property portals. To counter, some of them have raised their tariffs on listings. 

“Portals are caught between two opposing forces,” said Al Msaddi. “Less web traffic means they could drop in Google search rankings, and that could in turn affect their business revenue.

“On the other, any signs of these portals still featuring multiple/fake listings mean they suffer a reputational loss. It’s a difficult balance to achieve.”