UAE property sector close to ‘stabilising’: RICS
Improved access to funds has lifted sentiments of real estate investors in the country
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said the improved access to funds has lifted the sentiments of real estate investors in the UAE during the second quarter of 2012, a sign the sector is close to stabilising.
The number of potential property buyers rose for the second consecutive quarter and transactions are predicted to rise in the coming months, according to RICS’ Global Commercial Property Survey.
However, the office market will see new supply added to existing stocks, expanding further the oversupply situation despite the recovery in demand, the study said.
“It is encouraging that there are now some tentative signs of a turn in the real estate market in the UAE. At the moment, this is more visible in the investment market and it will take some take some time to work off the excess space that has built up in recent years,” Simon Rubinsohn, RICS chief economist commented.
“As a result, it may be premature to envisage any upturn in rent levels but after a torrid period, the indications are that that they are at least now close to stabilising,” he added.