Majority of UAE residents expect rents and property prices to stabilize or go up over the next year

According to the new survey, the majority of UAE residents believe that rents and property prices almost bottomed out and will either stabilize or go up over the next 12 months.

The study, released by Peninsula Research, showed that 53 percent of UAE residents expect prices and rents to become stable or go up in the next year. These results contrast sharply with October 2020, when only 31 percent of respondents expected prices and rents to either stabilize or rise.

'UAE renters are less confident that they will win further rent concessions from their landlords when their current lease expires. Throughout the last 12 months, a majority of renters have considered the rent they pay to be fair or good value. With further rent declines during 2020, this proportion has now risen to 81 per cent of respondents,' said the Peninsula Research.

UAE homeowners are also bullish on their prospects, according to the survey. Only 27 percent of respondents expect prices to decline further, 30 percent expect price stabilization and the largest group, 43 percent, expect prices to rise in the coming 12 months.

All this marks a hugely significant improvement in sentiment. In Q1 and Q2 2020, the majority of homeowners expected price declines over the following 12 months.

At the end of Q3 last year, responses were split 50/50. The large positive shift is also clearly demonstrated in the contrast between Q4 and Q3 2020, said the survey.