Dubai rents fall up to 11pc

Dubai's rental market is showing signs of cooling down, as the latest national index shows rents are down by up to 11 per cent this year.

The index from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) shows that rental prices decreased across much of the emirate, with rents for one-bed flats falling by between 4.55 per cent and 11 per cent.

The new index is only updated once a year, effectively presenting a recommended range of rents for the whole of the 2016. Indeed, that means it's harder for landlords to raise rents abitrarily.

This range of rental values varies between locations within the emirate, from Business Bay (from AED80,000 to AED105,000 per year) and Downtown Dubai (AED160,000 to AED180,000 per year) to two-beds in Jumeirah Lakes Towers (AED110,000 to AED135,000) and Dubai Marina (AED140,000 to AED180,000).

Rents for two-bed units are stable in many areas, such as the Greens, Silicon Oasis, Jumeirah Village Circle, Arjan and Dubai Sports City.

The index's dip arrives as a bank also reports that the rental market is cooling  down: Emirates NBD's latest report shows that the rental increase in December 2015 was the slowest since April 2015.

"There were a number of reports that cooling demand conditions could place downward pressure on newly agreed rents over the next three months. Reflecting this, latest data pointed to a drop in new rental inquiries for the first time since the survey began in April," said the report.

Emirate NBD also notes "overall subdued investor sentiment", as buyer enquires fall and house prices are expected to decline.

Despite this, almost two-thirds of Dubai's residents still think that rents will increase in the first quarter of 2015.