Dubai: The slight softening in rental rates would have helped as well as Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence recorded the highest number of shifting requests in the first-half of the year. The adjoining locations took up 61 per cent of the requests according to an online poll of 2,500 respondents by Movesouq.
And given the current circumstances in the economy and the job market as such, a sizeable share of the resident movements was directed at the more affordable locations of Dubai, including Dubailand and Jumeirah Village. Dubailand moved into second place on the Movesouq rankings.
Interestingly, people were also moving out from the non-freehold areas of the city. Al Nahda/Al Qusais and Bur Dubai were in the Top 10 areas that people were moving out of. But they were not among the top areas that people were moving into. (The findings only consider residential moving requests within Dubai.) There were other subtle trends in resident preferences. “It appears that many people prefer to stay in the same area, with a third of all requests being for moves to properties in the same neighbourhood,” says a statement issued by Movesouq, the home services portal. “Just over two-fifths (42 per cent) of requests to move out of Dubai Marina/JBR specified another property in Dubai Marina/JBR as the move in address.”
Both Dubai Marina/JBR and Downtown Dubai/DIFC/Business Bay are in the top three in both the moving to and moving from lists.
Another online poll shows that real estate is solidly placed as the top investment option for investors in the Gulf and Egypt, according to a survey conducted by informa the organiser of Cityscape Global, in association with YouGov.
Slightly more than half of respondents would choose real estate as their preferred investment category, followed by stocks (13 per cent) and precious metals (11 per cent).
For these respondents, the UAE is one of the most appealing countries to invest in real estate, with 65 per cent citing it as the most attractive option within the Middle East. And 64 per cent believe Dubai is the prime city to buy property in the region.
“What investors and home buyers are telling developers is that the market is missing affordable housing which constitutes by itself potential unmet needs waiting to be fulfilled,” according to a statement issued by the pollster.
The favoured Dubai locations for residents to move into
1. Dubai Marina/JBR (12.8%)
2. Dubailand (7.3%)
3. Downtown Dubai/DIFC/Business Bay (6.4%)
4. Jumeirah Village/Jumeirah Village Circle/Jumeirah Village Triangle (6.3%)
5. Jumeirah/Al Wasl/Umm Suqeim (6.2%)
6. Dubai Sports City/Motor City (5.0%)
7. JLT (4.4%)
8. Silicon Oasis (4.3%)
9. Jebel Ali/Jebel Ali Village/Discovery Gardens/The Gardens (4.0%)
10. Emirates Hills/Lakes/Meadows/Springs (3.8%)
Credit: Movesouq, based on an online poll conducted by it.
