Abu Dhabi’s real estate market has seen marginal declines in both sales prices and rent in the past few months.
According to real estate service company Asteco, rental prices for apartments and villas have declined by 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, compared to Q4 of 2019 and 4 percent and 5 percent compared to the same period last year.
In addition, as reported in our sister publication Arabian Business, research from Chestertons showed that average apartment sales prices declined by 1.2 percent and villas by 1.8 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Asteco reported that rental prices for high-end properties in Abu Dhabi dropped by 15 percent on the Corniche, 11 percent on Saadiyat Beach and seven percent on Yas Island compared to Q4 last year.
“Government reforms introduced over 2019, such as the Golden Card residency scheme and the granting of foreign ownership rights across investment zones, have undoubtedly had a positive impact on the capital’s real estate market in Q1,” said Chris Hobden, head of strategic consultancy, Chestersons MENA.
“While we expect recent support packages from both UAE and Abu Dhabi authorities, coupled with landlord relief measures, to go some way to support the real estate market, Covid-19’s impact is set to create headwinds, especially for the rental sector, near-term,” he added.
“Companies have increasingly taken steps to reduce salaries which, in turn, will place downward pressure on rents,” he said. “It is likely that landlords will need to demonstrate further flexibility on both rents and payment terms over the second quarter.”
