Sharjah rents: 12% drop from 2016

Residential rents in Sharjah took the biggest fall in the Northern Emirates, sliding 12 per cent on average since the third quarter of 2016, according to new research.

A main reason for the softening of rents in the Northern Emirates was the increased supply of affordable properties in Dubai, said the UAE Real Estate Report Q3 2017 by Asteco, a leading Dubai-based real estate services company.

Rents in Dubai affect bordering Sharjah, where rents are much lower, on average.

It appears that Sharjah tenants, for the most part, are staying put amid falling rents across the country.

While some are taking advantage of lower rents by moving to relatively inexpensive suburban areas of Dubai, the majority of Sharjah apartment tenants like where they are, John Stevens, managing director of Asteco, told Gulf News.

His comments echo the Q3 report, which shows that even though average rents fell 13 per cent in the most affordable areas, of both Dubai and Sharjah from Q3 2016 to Q3 2017, the difference in the actual amounts is clear.

For example, the report shows that two-bedroom flats in Dubai’s International City, widely regarded as one of Dubai’s most affordable areas, cost Dh50,000 to Dh70,000 in average annual rent — a 13 per cent decrease on Q3 2016.

However, those rates, when compared to Sharjah’s affordable Al Wahda area (where rents also dipped 13 per cent on average), are still expensive — double or more. Average annual rent for two-bedroom apartments in Al Wahda ranged from Dh25,000 to Dh28,000 in Q3.

Some Sharjah tenants told Gulf News that rents in Dubai are still out of their reach.

 Compared to occupancy rates of up to 40 per cent during 2008, occupancy rates today in Sharjah have climbed well past 80 per cent, he added.

One of the biggest factors in Sharjah retaining its tenants is a better understanding by landlords of an evolving market, Stevens said. “Landlords in Sharjah are being more flexible with tenants.”