AnotherWorld

So whats happening with it? My girlfriend's bedroom costs the equivalent of about $300 Aussie dollars per week (3700 dhs per month) for a single bedroom, shared between the lot of the girls there.

Still no sign of it ****ing off back to more sane levels?

commander

the deluded and people who are convincing themselves that they have a good enough deal to come here are saying that the prices are dropping..

im looking out for a couple of 2/3 bed appartments and cannot see any signs of a price drop..

someone please correct me with evidence!!

AnotherWorld

Well I just simply could not justify myself giving advice to someone moving to Abu Dhabi without having an apartment provided for them at no cost to themselves. I'm of the opinion that it is someone with extremely poor money management who would advise otherwise.

spart

Agreed. It is backing off in some areas. Al Raha is a case in point. Rents there have come off 120,000 since Dec. In Kalidiyha its come off only 30,000 - some areas are still more popular than others. Single bedders are still pretty dire though - subdivided apartments etc still being offered for OTT rates.

Norm_uk

I was reading the National briefly today while getting the oil changed in the car...it seems the main driving force behind high rentals in Abu Dhabi is the landlords - nearly all of whom are local and talk to each other and make sure they are charging far too much.

Apparently there are some empty buildings because of these lovely landlords waiting for some big company to step in and take the whole thing - less fuss than renting it to the little people who need it I suppose.

They desperately need a law stating empty units will be subject to a monthly fee paid to the government housing dept (so they can build more housing).

N.

Sarahb79

Government are trying to keep money in own emirate too. I've got job offer from Government hospital and can only spend my allowance in AD. Are there many flats out in Al Raha as hospital is Al Rahba.

busybee2

quite often that is the case, company say you have to live in same emirate always been that. no legite flats in rabha unless they are rented by the hospital etc, you are not allowed as expats to rent in local housing areas such as al rabha, nearest will be kca or al raha, and when al reef come on line, inshallah end of year etc.

busybee2

has always been the way, this is the difference between ad and dxb landlords here in ad are local, and they all talk between themselves, and say i rented my house for xy and z, and they will not want to loose face, they all decide on the price and they will stick to it. they will leave stuff empty and not accept even 1 k less for it. it has always been the way but in the past there has been enough that you could just leave and move etc. the way to sort it would be to make the landlords pay to get a tenant like they do in every other part of the world, and then they would not want to keep paying up for people to move in etc they would prefer to keep good tenants. its not rocket science,but as the place is run by them will it change.

Norm_uk

If most of the property for rent is over-priced just because they don't want to "loose face" it will result in the inflation of everyday items as companies will be forced to pay more and more on their employees accomodation. It will also drive away people to Dubai (where they will go out and spend their money at the weekend because they no longer live in AD) so overall they are harming their own economy.

Hence the need for someone at the top to make some new laws...they will not listen to expats or "smaller" locals who also struggle with rent here.

Otherwise I suppose we'll all meet up for a beer in Dubai Marina to discuss how many cheques we paid for our apartments in the Gardens - daily or weekly

N.

busybee2

you got it, wish they would "get" it. if you have less money in pocket because its gone on the rent, then you wont be going out buying all the cars and boats and trains and etc etc etc.

samanthak

Hi there,

I am in the same position as Sarah, we have got a job at the same hospital, noticed some places to rent at Al Shamkha, some advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sam

commander

i have a colleague that rents in Al Bahia..he is not a local..

Grace O Malley

god thats a shite hole, we had our staff living there, we had to move them out. Fck i would hate to live there

Millhouse

What's so bad about it? I keep seeing Villas there advertised at bargin prices...

busybee2

expats are not allowed to rent in such areas, this is samkha, sahama, bahia, fahal, rahba and so on ...... these areas are local housing areas, they are all the same, they were given to the locals and they are not allowed to rent them out, if they do, and you are caught then they could loose their house, and you would loose your money etc. you would find that most of these "houses" come including water/elec so that they keep it in the nationals name, as they get it for a fraction of the cost compared to an expat, and also it doesnt indicate that expats are living there. those are the rules, obviously a lot of people do rent them, because its cheaper etc.