Dubai Forums Dubai Discussions Dubai General Chat

It's high time the rip-off landlords in Dubai got their comeuppance. big time. No-one objects to people making a decent profit, especially in a property-boom city but the level of profiteering now is nothing short of scandalous.

Rents increased in the first quarter of this year by an average of 17.13 per cent over the previous six months and 30 per cent over the first quarter of 2005.

It really is taking people's eyes out whacking them with huge increases like this and just taking the attitude "If you don't like it, then bugger off cos someone else will pay it." And the supposed rent cap is just a joke.

You've got a position where the average rent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year has gone up by 48.81pc for Jumeirah, 44.17pc in The Greens and 40.1 for Umm Suqeim.

I think the word is extortion and I would like to see the bubble burst for the extortionists.

Thats life i am affraid GB.

and it depends which side of the fence you are on doesn't it ?

I doubt whether you would have posted this if you were a landlord.

There'll be a reckoning eventually with rises of this magnitude. I know of people either getting out or considering their future because it's becoming increasingly difficult to actually save anything while you're here. I don't think the streets are paved with gold any more.

GB

Read my previous posts GB, i have been saying exactly this, and it will get worse believe me.

The nearer DXB gets to "holiday city" in 2010, the more the prices will increase to the point where you may as well be living in London.

Tourist hotspots = rip off the toursits sadly everyone wil get sucked in.

I blame the tenants and "customers" also. Here is why, some idiot comes to Dubai and the company gives him/her a 150K allowance for a flat. What does the person do: promptly pay 150K for a shoe box flat - one bedroom with construction site view (after all is not "his money"). All this does is make landlords think the price must be ok and people are just willing to pay it. I'm not that good at math but I suspect that there may be no real overdemand of flats. I have lived in my building for 3 months and never saw another soul on my floor - all other seven flats empty. I've been to the Gym and pool deck and have seen a total of 5 people; taken the elevator with another person (other than staff) once; there are 3 parking levels - no cars whatsoever in the 3rd level and only occassionally a few cars on the second level.

In addition, the building across from me opened about a month ago and I can tell that maybe 5-10 apts on the side of the building I can see (a 25 story building) may be occupied.

I suggest that everyone look around more carefully and don't be sucked into this "you must get the flat today or it will be gone". Who the heck is going to occupy all those buildings - many ready and empty? Just because your company is giving you a large allowance for housing you are not obligated to use it all! (really, you can keep the balance!!!). Wait them out as much as possible.

Conc

I have been saying this also. As the Marina complex completes, then JBR completes, we will have a free zone to ourselves.

Its all a matter of supply and demand Conc.

Also another reason for the empty appts is that most have been subject to resales. Unfortunately the banks are only lending 70-80% of the "original price". This mean all those wannabe prop developers now own appartments they cannot take possession of, because they cant raise the finance.

Goody me cant wait, there will be some rich pickings by the end of the year. I will have to change my nick to "the sweeper"

I know it's making money from others misfortunes, but thats life, and like stocks and shares, if ya dont wanna get yer fingers burnt, dont dabble in things you know nothing about.

You reckon there will be some bargains to pick up come the end of the year then??
Will you be looking for tenants!?!? New best friend!!

Just think we can (or should) control the "Demand" part of the the equation. Supply is taken care of itself (or more optly, being oversupplied, but then again....)

It is already cheaper to live in central London or Tokyo. Sure there is no tax in the UAE, but when a 20 sq m room in a shared villa goes for 7000 (almost $2000), something is seriously wrong. Landlords can't leave their places empty forever and it will have to correct eventually... or people will leave.

In central Prague I can get almost three times the space for just over 1/3 the price of Dubai.

So what kind of gross rental yields are the landlords getting at present? Does anyone know how many new apartment buildings will be completing within the next 12 months. There appears to be a massive construction boom at present which will in time create a large supply of new empty apartments ..... and if they are all largely scheduled for completion at the same time then you will see rents take a serious hit just to secure a tenant.

Ok, don't quote me on this, but I believe there are a massive number of buildings in the Marina and JBR that are scheduled to complete by May 2007 - so next may is probably the time there will be some "over supply". Of course, that's not going to help people already in Dubai, as they are likely to be tied in to a 12 month contract!

There is no doubt there will be an oversupply, and I think we might see the tipping point sooner than expected. Although I've only been here a couple of weeks, the number of buildings being constructed and the number of available apartments (even buildings becoming ready to occupy now) will soon see the balance swing back the other way.

It will be a simple fact that when the number of apartments in Dubai becomes greater than the number of people needing to rent apartments, the price must come down, and there will be bargains.

^ian^ wrote:It will be a simple fact that when the number of apartments in Dubai becomes greater than the number of people needing to rent apartments, the price must come down, and there will be bargains.

You'd think so wouldn't you - but this is Dubai we are talking about!!!

Are there any decent sites that anybody knows of where I could start investigating the cost of rent in Dubai?

Try these sites for starters.............

http://www.dubizzle.com/
http://www.bhomes.com/
http://www.gulfnews.com/classifieds/index.html
http://www.grapeshisha.com/

Hope this helps.

Cheers Zooter!! Trying to explain to my HR department that rental increases are a huge issue in Dubai when considering relocation packages!!

Oh, and have a read of this too......

http://www.arabiestrends.com/Cover%20Story%200403.htm

Just print a few of the threads from this forum and give copies to HR.

the_zooter wrote:Oh, and have a read of this too......

http://www.arabiestrends.com/Cover%20Story%200403.htm

Ok - Ignore my last post - they've removed the story!!! Oh well!

I did wonder why you had given me a link on the US army in Iraq!! I actually read the first 3 paragraphs thinking there would be a clever link somewhere!!!

The plain fact is that many people are finding that they are no better off/worse off than they were in say the UK because dream packages are not being thrown at people these days. When you start adding up the very high cost of renting a reasonable, decent-sized, air-conditioned apartment and furnishing and equipping it, getting all the services sorted, all the hidden taxes that face you at every turn in a supposed tax-free haven, getting a car and all the rest you may well be in for a shock when you do the maths.

I've heard that from several people who I personally know who have moved out to Dubai in the last few years. Seems that it's not the wonderful tax-free haven that it once was! This reality does make me think that any package to relocate would have to be pretty damn sexy to be considered!

GoodBai wrote:The plain fact is that many people are finding that they are no better off/worse off than they were in say the UK

I would have to say if money was your sole reason for moving to Dubai, you need to apply the rule of 'all good things' to it and move on somewhere else. I think salaries here for certain professions are still quite good, and apart from the rent, I think the cost of living is still quite low.

Money certainly wasn't my sole reason, there's the adventure aspect of it, and also there's the living somewhere different aspect of it.

Mind you, I've been to quite a lot of countries on this planet, and everyone always seems to complain that things weren't what they once were (not aimed directly at you GoodBai), but then, perhaps things were never as good as they seemed.

Take for instance in Australia, A can of coke from a vending machine costs you 3 dirhams, a packet of cigarettes 30 dirhams, and a meal at a restaurant (not including alcohol) about 150 dirhams a head. Rent for a 2 bedroom apartment in Brisbane/Gold Coast is about 1500 - 1600 dirhams a week, so whilst lower, not miles lower.

I didn't think things were any cheaper there than Australia, except perhaps Ireland which was marginally around the same. France and especially Paris I thought was the most expensive place on Earth, and the USA is certainly no playground.

So yeah, Dubai may not be as good as it once was, but cost of living vs income I still think it's in front. Could be wishful thinking since we're FOB, but then it's easy to be negative as well.

If money is all you want out of life, then money is all you will get, no matter where you are.

G wrote:I did wonder why you had given me a link on the US army in Iraq!! I actually read the first 3 paragraphs thinking there would be a clever link somewhere!!!

Yeah, sorry about that mate!! I'm having one of those days!!!
Was it interesting at all??

Can't say I'd recommend it!!!