More than a third of Abu Dhabi residents are planning to move house in the coming 12 months, according to the results of Time Out’s recent Renting in the UAE survey, which polled 700 adult residents of the capital on their attitudes to renting in Abu Dhabi.
Asked, “are you looking to move property within the UAE in the next 12 months?” 39 percent said yes, while 31 percent were undecided and 30 percent said no.
Of those who said they were looking to move house, only 37 percent said their decision was impacted by COVID-19.
Reflecting decreasing residential rents across the UAE, 39 percent of respondents said they would be looking for a larger property, 41 percent said they would be looking for a property of the same size and only 20 percent said they would be looking for a smaller property.
Asked in a multiple choice question why there were, or would be looking to move, most popular responses included looking for lower rent (61 percent), more space (41 percent), better community facilities (37 percent), a property with a garden (20 percent), closer to work (18 percent) and closer to attractions / amenities (17 percent).
Time Out’s Renting in the UAE survey, which collected responses from adults living in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, ran from August 30 to September 23, 2020, polled 700 individuals in Abu Dhabi and 1,500 individuals in Abu Dhabi.
Of those surveyed in Abu Dhabi, 28 percent currently spend Dhs50,000-69,999 a year on rent, 19 percent spend Dhs30,000-49,999, 15 percent spend Dhs70,000-89,999 and 10 percent spend Dhs90,000-109,999. Only two percent of those polled spend more than Dhs220,000 a year on rent.
The survey also found that more than half of Dubai residents plan to move house in the next 12 months and more than half of Dubai residents have already had a rent reduction in the past year.
For the full Abu Dhabi-specific results of Time Out’s Renting in the UAE survey, click here to read the latest issue of Time Out Abu Dhabi.
