dubai expat life

Dubai Rent Guide

Are you planning to rent a property in Dubai? Whether it is a villa, flat or bed space – rent negotiation is a skill every expat must acquire.

Although there is too much supply and low demand but rents in Dubai fluctuate very frequently. Some say falling rents in Dubai is a myth.

Gulf News reports rents in Dubai have surged by more than 10% this year.

Dubai Rent Guide

Dubai Rent Guide:

Business Bay

Rent in March 2011 – Dh87.6 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh92.4 per square foot
Current average three-bedroom apartment rental – Dh115,000 to Dh130,000

The Greens

Rent in March 2011 – Dh73.92 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh78.6 per square foot.
Current average three-bedroom apartment rental – Dh120,000. to Dh150,000

The Palm Jumeirah apartments

Rent in March 2011 – Dh76.44 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh81.84 per square foot
Current average three-bedroom Shoreline apartment – Dh160,000 and Dh170,000 for a street view / Dh200,000 and Dh220,000 for a sea view.

International City

Rent in March 2011- Dh66.96 per square foot yearly
Current rent -Dh72 per square foot
Current average two-bedroom apartment rental – Dh40,000 to Dh50,000

Jumeirah Lakes Tower (JLT)

Rent in March 2011- Dh60.36 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh64.92 per square foot
Current average three-bedroom apartment rentals – Dh110,000 to Dh130,000

Arabian Ranches

Rent in March 2011- Dh56.52 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh61.2 per square foot
Current average four-bedroom villa rentals – Dh220,000 to Dh250,000

Dubai Marina apartments

Rent in March 2011 2011 – Dh74.76 per square foot per year
Current rent – Dh81.84 per square foot
Current average rentals for a four-bedroom apartment – Dh140,000 to Dh200,000.

The Springs, The Meadows and The Lakes

Rent in March 2011 2011 – Dh53.76 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh59.16 per square foot
Current average three-bedroom townhouse rentals in The Lakes – Dh180,000.
Current average four-bedroom villa rental in The Meadows – Dh250,000

Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)

Rent in March 2011 — Dh73.92 per square foot yearly
Current rent — Dh82.2 per square foot
Current average rentals for a four-bedroom apartment – Dh180,000 to Dh220,000

Discovery Gardens (DG)

Rent in March 2011 – Dh49.68 per square foot a year.
Current rent – Dh49.8 per square foot.
Current average : two-bedroom rentals – Dh55,000 to Dh70,000 a year

Palm Jumeirah villas

Rent in March 2011 – Dh73.92 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh77.28 per square foot
Current average four-bedroom villa rental – Dh350,000

Downtown Dubai

Rent in March 2011 – Dh92.88 per square foot yearly
Current rent – Dh97.44 per square foot
Current average four-bedroom apartment rental – Dh200,000 to Dh240,000

dubai mall open after coronavirus lock down

Dubai Municipality pushing back plans to charge expat housing fees

Dubai expat housing feesDubai Municipality is pushing back its plans to charge all expat housing fees.

Currently, the housing fee is imposed in some residential districts of Dubai. The authorities have planned to roll it out across the emirate by June 2012.

However, a series of delays means only 65 percent of expats are currently being charged.

Housing fees, billed through residents’ monthly utility bills, are calculated at five percent of the tenant’s annual rent. Freehold property owners pay five percent of the annual rental value, as calculated by the RERA index.

Among the areas not yet fully covered include Al Barsha, Discovery Gardens, Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa area and Dubai Marina.

Emiratis do not pay the charge, leading some residents to dub the fee an “expat tax”. This is one of the hidden costs of living in Dubai.

As one expat said, Dubai is replacing the word tax with fees.

Tourists in Dubai to get a free mobile SIM

Dubai Residents Required To Register Tenancy Contacts From 2012

Dubai Residents Required To Register Tenancy Contacts From 2012From 2012, residents of Dubai have to register their tenancy contracts with Dubai Land Department through Ejari system.

People who have Dubai labour permits and residence visas but live in other emirates are not obliged to register their tenancy contract with the land department.

Also, residents of Sharjah, Ajman and other emirates, who are sponsored by Dubai companies or other entities, do not have to register with the land department.

Gulf News reports that Marwan Bin Ghulaita, CEO of Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera), said Ejari registration is mandatory for all rentals in Dubai only. People who have Dubai labour permits and residence visas but live in other emirates are not obliged to register their tenancy contract with the land department.

Residents who do not register their tenancy contracts will not be able to conduct transactions at some government departments and may lead to the imposition of penalties which will come into effect in 2012.

The Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs said they will process transactions of people who run their businesses in Dubai but live in other emirates if their tenancy contracts are attested by the municipality in the emirate.

dubai marina

RERA may cancel 90,000 real estate units in Dubai

RERA may cancel 90,000 real estate units in DubaiRERA, Dubai’s real estate watchdog is carrying out a financial review of about 90,000 real estate units due to be delivered over the next five years to assess their viability.

“We are reviewing more than 90,000 units that will come to the market from today to 2016,” Marwan Bin Ghalaita said on the sidelines of a meeting in Dubai.

“Some people do not like the word cancelled, they keep saying delayed, delayed, delayed. Sometimes we have to face the truth and if a project is not good for Dubai then we have to admit and say it is cancelled.”

Ghalaita said on March 17 that Dubai had 220 residential real estate projects ongoing this year.

Dubai’s property sector was hit hard by the downturn, with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or cancelled amid tumbling real estate prices.

Speculators caught with multiple properties and little chance to turn a profit fled the market and defaulted on purchases, while other buyers continued to honor their contracts, often paying installments even after work was halted in the aftermath of the crisis.

About 50 percent of Dubai real-estate projects were cancelled or suspended after the collapse, included branded developments such as Dubai Properties’ Tiger Woods real estate project.

From: Arabian Business

dubai expat life

Housing to get more cheaper in Dubai

cheap houses in dubai

Planning to buy your dream home in Dubai or looking for a rental thats easy on your cheque book? The good news is that your best bargain is just around the corner.

A number of local and international research companies have already predicted a decline in rents, but have refrained from giving a percentage fall, citing lack of official data.

Dubai-based Landmark Advisory expects 48,000 new homes due to come on to the market in the next two years, while Colliers International expected 33,000 new units to be added on to the market by 2010-end.

Statistics shared by Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) in February said 31,003 and 43,880 units were likely to enter the market in 2009 and 2010. However, it added that 20 per cent of the units would not enter on time in 2009, while 40 per cent of 2010 residential units will be delayed. In December 2010, Rera said 202 projects had been cancelled in Dubai.

In its report, HC Brokerage said rents appeared to have stabilised in 2010, and fell merely three per cent against 37 per cent in 2009.

From: Emirates 24|7

Tourists in Dubai to get a free mobile SIM

RERA cancels 202 real estate projects in Dubai

RERA DubaiDubai property doom continues and investors who have been lured in by aggressive marketing campaigns are paying the price for government’s inability to apply effective controls when greedy developers had their filed days.

According to the news, RERA has recently canceled 202 real estate projects in Dubai and won’t allow developers to start new ones without funding them in advance as it works to control supply.

About 33,000 new housing units will be added to Dubai’s market by this year, exacerbating a vacancy rate of around 40 percent, Colliers International estimated. Property prices have fallen by almost 60 percent after banks curtailed lending and speculators left the market.

RERA is canceling projects where little or no construction has taken place or where buildings are far from city infrastructure. Projects in which the majority of buyers were speculators and have ceased payments or those owned by developers who can’t show they are capable of finishing the work are also being stopped or delayed.

It is uncertain when and how the investors will get their payments refunded for the projects canceled by RERA. Most of these projects are under construction since 2008 and investors, most of them genuine, have so far suffered a lot.