Real estate services firm, Asteco has said residential sales prices in Dubai have remained relatively unchanged during the third quarter of this year, while the commercial property market remained subdued due to a lack of demand.
Quality residential developments in the emirate have built upon their strong performance in the previous quarter, with average rental increases in the third quarter of 2% for apartments and 3% for villas, the report said.
“The increasing rental rates are due to the lack of a certain unit type, whether that is larger three-bedroom units in towers or smaller townhouses in villa communities,” said Elaine Jones, CEO at Asteco.
“The reason for the shortage of a particular unit type is either the low number of units initially available or high occupancy rates within certain developments,” she added.
Overall sales prices in the third quarter remained stable after the steady increases, which were recorded at the beginning of the year.
The summer coinciding with Ramadan resulted in lower enquiry levels and consequently no significant pickup, Asteco noted.
The commercial market has also been ‘rather passive’ since the beginning of June, which was reflected in the office sales and rental rates, which remained unchanged, the firm said.