Dubai: Tenants in Dubai will have more room to negotiate for affordable rents this year, as nearly 50,000 new homes are expected to flood the market and increase the options for house hunters.
By the end of 2019, developers across the emirate are likely to hand over 47,502 newly completed apartments, villas and townhouses to homeowners, thereby increasing the availability of accommodations to choose from for the city’s over 3.1 million population.
Property analysts have said that now is the best time for residents to shift to more affordable locations or upgrade their homes, as there are plenty of options in the market for the budget conscious.
“With the considerable amount of supply already released into the market, and the upcoming supply through 2022, the prices we are experiencing today are the new normal. We can expect prices to decline further in 2019 as the market absorbs the immense amount of supply,” said Lynette Abad, director of research and data, Property Finder, which compiled the data.
As of December 2018, at least 33,983 residential units under construction in Dubai were already 65 per cent finished and they’re scheduled for completion for 2019. Besides these homes, at least 13,520 units that were originally scheduled to finish earlier are expected to be completed in the first half, so that means the total amount of housing supply that will be delivered this year will be close to 50,000.
These don’t include the units that have just been turned over to investors. Last year, thousands of homes were also delivered, including the 3,761 apartments and serviced apartments in Business Bay, 2,051 flats in Burj Khalifa, 394 villas in Dubai Properties’ Arabella project in Mudon and 2,227 flats in Jumeirah Village Circle.
The areas that are can expect abundant supply of homes are the southeast and southwest parts of Dubai, particularly in developments such as Reem’s Mira Oasis, which will have 1,393 units in three phases once completed.
Remraam also just saw the addition of 2,641 units by Dubai Properties. Town Square by Nshama saw 231 apartments and 730 townhomes released in Hayat earlier in the year, while Motor City saw the completion of 137 villas in the Casa Flores project, 136 units in Eden Apartments, 95 townhouses in Casa Familia and 269 apartments in Oia Residence.
As of the second half of 2018, tenants were looking to rent in popular places like Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, the Palm Jumeirah, Al Barsha and Business Bay.
However, as more homes get delivered in newly developed residential communities such as Town Square and Dubai Hills Estate, more tenants are likely to snap up units in those areas.
The rise in population, coupled with the increase in the number of tenants looking to live outside the city centre, will also fuel demand.
