UAE Central Bank Q2 2021 review: property prices rose in Abu Dhabi and dropped in Dubai

In Q1 and Q2 2021, residential real estate prices in Abu Dhabi marked a significant y-o-y increase.

The residential real estate market in UAE kept improving in Q2 2021. Residential prices in Abu Dhabi increased y-o-y for the second quarter in a row in more than five years. And property prices in Dubai declined though at a slower pace, said UAE Central Bank in its quarterly economic review.

In Q1 and Q2 2021, residential real estate prices in Abu Dhabi marked a significant y-o-y increase. However, comparing q-o-q results, prices slightly declined in the second quarter of the year after three consecutive positive quarters of q-o-q growth.

According to the REIDIN house price index, the average price in the Abu Dhabi housing market increased for a second consecutive quarter compared to a year ago. Average Abu Dhabi residential prices grew by 2.2 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021.

Rents in Abu Dhabi declined in the second quarter of 2021 by 5.7 percent y-o-y. The decline in rents by 1.1 percent q-o-q together with the decrease in sales prices q-o-q by only 0.5 percent caused the drop in rental yield to 6.5 percent, compared to 6.6 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Sales prices in Dubai continued to decline in Q2 2021, with q-o-q drop reducing further.

According to the central bank, property prices in Dubai declined on average by 6.3 percent y-o-y in Q2 2021, while rents increased by 1.7 percent y-o-y.

As for the rental yield, it moved up to 7.2 percent in Q2 2021 from 6.7 percent in the previous quarter, which is the result of rise in rents and decline in sales prices, UAE Central Bank noted in its review.