Taz786

Hi,

This post is mainly related to individuals that have stayed or currently staying in Dubai but also open to others if they can contribute.

If you were moving to Dubai next month and hoping to stay there for a minimum of 5 years. Would you buy or rent a property there?

Thanks

Johnnyboy11

I'd rent, at least in the short to medium term, for the following reasons:

- Low, or non-existent job security
- High UK expat turnover
- Low build quality, poorly maintained
- Extortionate service fees, with little service and long-term tie-in
- Boom and bust property market, perhaps popping again?
- Legal system biased towards Emiratis
- Non-liquid asset, subject to tenuous property rights for expats
- Safer returns on your capital in the equities, commodities and bond markets, spread worldwide
- Travel ban if you get into debt, many horror stories from the last crash...

[J]

Millhouse

all true. Plus the obvious fact that they are currently overpriced in USD terms, and the USD is very strong. Better earn your dollars and store them in other areas - buy in Europe or dare I say it, UK, right now.

Taz786

You provide a good case Johnnyboy11 and Millhouse. It all makes sense.

Renting it is.

Thanks.

Meow

I fully agree with Millhouse and JohnnyBoy.

This is a very immature market with no guarantees at all.

NorthernLad

We have been here a while, rent an apartment and lease a car.

If things go wrong here, they can go badly wrong - my view is be able to get out relatively easily with no ties to the place.

And the laws can change very quickly.

mikewot

Amid fears of more bubble trouble, who'd buy in Dubai? - BBC News

Taz786

@ Meow - Thanks and I agree..

@NorthernLad - I was initially thinking of buying a car on finance or even get a second-hand car. Will need to consider the option of leasing for peace of mind. I have known individuals that have lived in Dubai for 20+ years but do understand the region is unpredictable. How long have you lived in Dubai and are you anxious you may have to suddenly move or its been safe thus far?

@mikewot - I read the same article this morning during my news catch-up earlier. Guess it was a stupid idea considering buying a property to start off with.

NorthernLad

Been out here just over eleven years. Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but I've seen things change quickly at times which has caught people out.

scrubbedexpat141

I rented a car for 6 months, then bought on finance. It's practically paid off now and my repayments are the same as the rent cost on a much shitter car.

I like owning a car, weirdly. It's mine, I make the payments easily, I can always sell it for more than I owe and it's better than the same cost of hiring.

In fact, I think if I wanted to lease my car the cost is still higher than when I take repairs, maintenance, tyres, petrol etc into account. But only just.

Cypselos

Does anyone really have a clue on house prices? Just today:

According to the National

More signs of a slowdown in Dubai property market

While according to Gulf News

Property prices moving into sweet spot

The latter reads like a puff piece for developers.

shiva

sure sign the bubble is bursting

months of rents falling in most areas and then a headline article mentioning mental prices

Dubai rents increase in early 2015 | GulfNews.com

Bullshit alert

"Dubai: Forecast of an across-the-board rent decline did not happen during the first three months of the year, as a number of tenants in Dubai continued to witness increases of as much as 5.74 per cent, a new report showed.

Data compiled by real estate portal Bayut.com showed that the average rent for three-bedroom apartments during the first quarter of 2015 increased by 5.74 per cent from the previous three months. Annual rents for apartments in this category are currently averaging Dh215,000. I pay half that for a 3 bed villa, there is no way this is an average price

One-bedroom apartment rentals also went up by 3.39 per cent, with annual rents going up to Dh101,667, about Dh3,300 higher than last year’s Dh98,333.

“Expectations of an across-the-board decline in rental prices in [the first quarter] proved to be wrong, and the solid demand for residential units kept rents afloat in many localities,” the company said in a report sent to Gulf News.

The report said rental rates for apartments with two bedrooms also saw a minor increase of 1.28 per cent, with annual rates averaging Dh158,333.

The property portal, pointed out, though that some areas noticed some price reductions and a wider rental decline is still expected once the new units hit the market.

Al Mario, who is renting a two-bedroom apartment in Dubai Marina, is looking for a new place to stay. His landlord has announced that he will increase the rent by 20 per cent once the lease is renewed in June.

"The landlord said the rent is still within the Rera rental index calculator. So our rent will be Dh120,000 by June. There is no consideration even though we have been living in the same apartment for five years," Mario told Gulf News.

"This increase of 20% is too much to bear. We only get five per cent increase in our salary in a year, if we are lucky. With this skyrocketing rent increases and the everyday heavy traffic caused by the tram in the vicinity, it is time to relocate."

Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut.com, attributed the rent increases to the strong demand for apartments for lease. The additional residential units that were forecast to be completed this year have yet to be delivered.

"The rise in rental values can be attributed to a natural hike in demand or marginal inflationary trends year-on-year that is expected in almost every sector," Ali Khan said.

"The rents were expected to decline with the delivery of new units early in 2015. Since they have not been delivered as yet, the demand remains strong and the rentals have continued with their increasing trends during the first quarter."

According to JLL Middle East and North Africa, rents in general remained relatively flat, while sale prices for apartments and villas registered marginal declines.

“Rents remained relatively flat. We expect this trend to continue with average sale prices declining by up to10 per cent during 2015,” said Craig Plumb, head of research at JLL Middle East and North Africa.

“The Dubai real estate market continued to experience subdued activity during the first quarter of the year. Residential sale prices saw a marginal decline across both apartments and villas.”

JLL said it is normal for sale prices to move ahead of rents and “this appears to be happening in the residential market in Dubai at present.”

“While this is resulting in increased rental yields, this is likely to be a temporary factor with more attractive yields eventually increasing demand and therefore sale prices again.”"

scrubbedexpat141

I pay 100,000 for a one bed apartment.

They're on the market for 120k. Most decent one-beds are around 100k so that part seems fairly accurate for current.

2beds in my bit are 160-190 so 3bed apartment might hit 215k but I'd be amazed at anyone stupid enough to pay that for an apartment.

Cypselos

Is bayut.com anything to do with bayt.com. Looks sort of not quite similar enough...

Taz786

@ Scamp - I had the same thoughts as you with regards to finance as its generally a good rate. I know someone that got a car with 2.9% rate.

@Northernlad - I know where you are coming from and I am usually a cautious type of guy.