busybee2

the rent cap had been in place a few years, the first year it was stuck at 7% then they reduced it to 5% then now "anything"

yes you could be forced to move each year which obviously costs you money as you have to pay moving fees, new estate agent fees, new deposits for shifting utilities etc... so you have to work out if its worth it.

market forces are not the same here as the rest of the world... they keep prices "high".

karamah is 24th and 13th/11th st on island.

skmc is actually rowdah but its just once block away.

you will find that things work very differently here!!!!!

Aero

Keeping prices high sounds suspiciously like a cartel !

Other than dubizzle and propertyfinder.ae , are there any other recommended property sites ?

busybee2

yep its always been like that.... entire buildings will be left "empty".

dont believe all that you see on the internet most of it doesnt exist and most of it is the same time and time again.

Aero

Ok. But other than the 2 websites I mentioned , are there any others of note ?

busybee2

nope!

Aero

We managed to view a villa on island in a compound rather than MBZ. Its the kind of place I would be glad to call home.

Aero

As regards rent rises , are compound villas any more or less likely to have big increases compared to non-compound villas ?

archie159

There was an article in The National over the weekend discussing which areas and villa types are most likely to have rent rises. It'll be on their website.

Aero

Was it this ?

Where to rent in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2015 | The National

al dente

Yep. I think compound prices are less likely to rise as there are so many in the same bracket and it's one landlord often.

Apartments and stand alone villas seem to be effected the most by hikes.

busybee2

nope compounds still rising, small or big still going up.

Jimmy B

13th and Al karama street is the heart of Al Karama and yes SKMC does count as Al Karama. It basically goes from 9th street up towards 19th street where it changes to Al Mushriff. I live in Karama complex b and 4 bed villas are around AED 200k and we have a gated communal pool and so children are safe!

Jimmy B

13th and Al karama street is the heart of Al Karama and yes SKMC does count as Al Karama. It basically goes from 9th street up towards 19th street where it changes to Al Mushriff. I live in Karama complex b and 4 bed villas are around AED 200k and we have a gated communal pool and so children are safe!

busybee2

actually on the maps skmc is in al tibbiya, but people call it karama which stops the other side hazza bin zayed, just because its on karama st, its also known as rowdah... techically mushrif starts at 15th outwards

Aero

200k AED for an on-island somewhat central 4 bed villa seems relatively reasonable. In Khalidya village , another gated community they are currently 220-240k.

2 must-haves for me are central AC which I assume most of the gated areas have but also 2 covered parking spaces ! Do any of these gated areas offer apartments ? (With lower rents?)