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Ajman absorbs biggest rent drop at 19% annually
As average apartment rents across the Northern Emirates remained under pressure during the first quarter, falling by 12 per cent year-on-year, analysts expect the trend to continue amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to data from Cavendish Maxwell, average annual rents in Sharjah range from Dh16,500 for a studio to Dh42,000 for three-bedroom apartments. Further up north, there are even more competitive prices for bigger accommodations, with three-bedroom apartments in Umm Al Quwain available for Dh29,000 on average, down from Dh30,000 in the fourth quarter last year. “On average, residences in Sharjah and the Northern Emirates are approximately 20–40 per cent cheaper than Dubai,” said Aditi Gouri, associate partner, strategic consulting and research at Cavendish Maxwell. “As of Q1 2020, the market stabilised slightly, but continued to register low rents and rates. On a quarterly basis, single-digit declines in rents continued into 2020.”
According to Asteco, the average rents for typical apartments in the Northern Emirates softened by around 2 per cent during the first three months of the year compared with the previous period, and 12 per cent annually.
“Similar to Dubai, sales prices and rental rates will definitely soften due to the sheer volume of existing and new supply, and in line with the overall tepid global, regional and local economic conditions and bearish market sentiment,” said John Stevens, managing director of Asteco.
The biggest declines were seen in Ajman, where rents dropped 19 per cent annually and 4 per cent quarter-on-quarter, and Ras Al Khaimah, which saw a decline of 15 per cent annually and 2 per cent quarterly. In Sharjah, rental rates retreated 13 per cent annually and 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain both saw single-digit declines – 9 percent annual drop for both, and quarterly decline of 3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
This article was originally published in Property Weekly Gulf News.
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Sarah-Jane Carter
BA (Hons) DipM
Head of Marketing
Sarah-Jane joined Cavendish Maxwell in January 2020 as Head of Marketing and is responsible for the development of the marketing strategy and execution across the Middle East region. An energetic and results driven marketer, Sarah-Jane possesses a wealth of multi-channel marketing experience, within both B2B and B2C environments which she has gained over a 25 year career. Prior to joining Cavendish Maxwell, Sarah-Jane held senior marketing positions for major developers in Dubai including Emaar, Dubai Properties and Dubai Sports City. She also worked for IWG as the Regional Marketing Director responsible for the MEA and APAC regions. Before relocating to the UAE in 2005, Sarah-Jane held various management roles in public and private sector companies in the UK including ten years at Royal Mail and seven years at the Bank of America.
Sarah-Jane is a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has a BA(Hons) Degree in Business and Marketing
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