Dubai: Up to 20% drop in rents ‘healthy' for property market, says top developer
A 10-20 per cent drop in rents is healthy for the Dubai property market following a four-year rally, said a top developer.
Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Properties, expects a correction in rents next year after a double-digit increase since the Covid-19 pandemic.
'Rental correction might come around 10-20 per cent next year, which is required and healthy because rentals have gone very high. A 10-20 per cent rental correction will help the market as investors are coming here what is happening around the world. Dubai benefits whenever there is uncertainty in the world. But at the same time, prices and rents should not go too high,' Sajan told Khaleej Times in an interview.
As reported last week, some properties in Dubai have started to see a decline in rentals due to growing competition among landlords, the impact of the Smart Rental Index on older properties and the supply of new units pressuring rents down. But a wider drop in rents across more communities is expected to be felt next year.
Danube Properties chief also attributes a strong pipeline of new supply which will hit the market next year for a drop in rents.
According to Property Monitor, Dubai saw 7,848 units handed over in the first quarter of 2025. A total of 71,251 new units are likely to be delivered for the whole of 2025, 80,015 in 2026 and 58,766 in 2027.
'This substantial influx of new supply over the medium term will be a key factor to watch, alongside ongoing demand dynamics, as it may influence both property prices and rental rates,' said Betterhomes in its first quarter report released on Monday.
'We should see some correction in rentals next year when deliveries happen. Prices might also see some correction, but there is nothing to worry about for good developers who offer good quality and amenities,' Sajan said, adding that a lot of investors from the US and Canada are coming to UAE.
'Dubai always benefits whenever there is uncertainty globally,' he said.
Shortage of quality contractors
Danube Properties is among the top 10 developers in Dubai, delivering thousands of units so far. It delivered three projects ahead of schedule since the first half of 2024.
The private developer has launched 34 projects, successfully delivered 18, with another 16 currently in various stages. Last week, it unveiled its latest residential project Sparklz by Danube, a 358-unit tower coming up in Al Furjan.
Currently, Danube holds an impressive book value with construction spanning over 25.5 million square feet.
Sajan said there is a shortage of quality contractors in Dubai as the emirate has seen a good influx of new foreign developers as well as local ones.
'Finding a good contractor is going to be very, very challenging. Selling properties will not be as big a challenge as finding a contractor because there are too many developers but the number of contractors is the same. Also, contractors like to work with only developers with good reputations because the property market is cyclical and this market has seen its share of ups and downs. And contractor could face a challenge if developer's reputation is good,' said Sajan
'There are not as many new contractors coming here as the number of developers. There is plenty of space for contractors to grow – more space for contractors than developers. More contractors from Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and India should come here because there is a lot of work here in Dubai and UAE,' he said.
Danube's chief suggested that developers coming from other countries should bring in contractors as well to meet growing demand.
For contractors, he noted, it is very easy to set up a company, hire workers, process visas for labourers and get approvals.
'Dubai is one of the easiest cities in the world to do business and work,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Al Etihad
US FDA approves Moderna's next-generation COVID vaccine for adults 65 or older
31 May 2025 09:47 (REUTERS)The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Moderna's next-generation COVID-19 vaccine for everyone aged 65 and above, the company said on Saturday, the first endorsement since the regulator tightened vaccine has also been approved for people aged 12 to 64 with at least one or more underlying risk factors, Moderna said in a said it expects to have the vaccine, called mNEXSPIKE, available for the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season."The FDA approval of our third product, mNEXSPIKE, adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19," CEO Stephane Bancel said in the Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of long-time vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is increasing regulatory scrutiny on FDA said on May 20 it planned to require drugmakers to test their COVID booster shots against an inert placebo in healthy adults under 65 for approval, effectively limiting them to older adults and those at risk of developing severe Moderna vaccine, branded mNEXSPIKE, can be stored in refrigerators rather than freezers, to offer longer shelf life and make distribution easier, especially in developing countries where supply-chain issues could hamper vaccination Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which Kennedy also oversees, said on Thursday that COVID vaccines remain an option for healthy children when parents and doctors agree that it is needed, stopping short of Kennedy's announcement days earlier that the agency would remove the shots from its immunisation CDC announcement eases investor concern to some extent, analysts say, as it keeps the existing framework for older adults and at-risk people who generally seek out the is betting on its newer messenger RNA vaccines as it grapples with waning demand for its original COVID vaccine Spikevax and lower-than-expected uptake of its respiratory syncytial virus approval for mNEXSPIKE was based on late-stage trial data, which showed the shot was not inferior in efficacy compared to Spikevax in individuals aged 12 years and older. The shot also showed superior efficacy compared to Spikevax in adults 18 years of age and older in the study.
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Gulf Today
Elon Musk leaves Trump administration after turbulent effort to slash government
Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk is leaving the Trump administration after leading a tumultuous efficiency drive, during which he upended several federal agencies but ultimately failed to deliver the generational savings he had sought. His "off-boarding will begin tonight," a White House official told Reuters late on Wednesday, confirming Musk's departure from government. Musk earlier on Wednesday took to his social media platform X to thank President Donald Trump as his time as a special government employee with the Department of Government Efficiency draws to an end. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote on his social media platform X. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," he added. Elon Musk gestures as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington. File / AP His departure was quick and unceremonious. He did not have a formal conversation with Trump before announcing his exit, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, who added that his departure was decided "at a senior staff level." While the precise circumstances of his exit were not immediately clear, he leaves a day after criticising Trump's marquee tax bill, calling it too expensive and a measure that would undermine his work with the US DOGE Service. Some senior White House officials, including Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, were particularly irked by those comments, and the White House was forced to call Republican senators to reiterate Trump's support for the package, a source familiar with the matter said. While Musk remains close to the president, his exit comes after a gradual, but steady slide in standing. Elon Musk stands and is recognised and applauded as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress. File/ AP After Trump's inauguration, the billionaire quickly emerged as a powerful force in Trump's orbit: hyper-visible, unapologetically brash and unfettered by traditional norms. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he brandished a red metallic chainsaw to wild cheers. "This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy," he declared. On the campaign trail, Musk had said DOGE would be able to cut at least $2 trillion in federal spending. DOGE currently estimates its efforts have saved $175 billion so far, a number Reuters was not able to independently verify. Musk did not hide his animus for the federal workforce, and he predicted that revoking "the COVID-era privilege" of telework would trigger "a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome." But some cabinet members who initially embraced Musk's outsider energy grew wary of his tactics, sources said. Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House. AP/ File Over time, they grew more confident pushing back against his job cuts, encouraged by Trump's reminder in early March that staffing decisions rested with department secretaries, not with Musk. Musk clashed with three of Trump's most senior cabinet members - Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He called Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro a "moron" and "dumber than a sack of bricks." Navarro dismissed the insults, saying, "I've been called worse." At the same time, Musk began to hint that his time in government would come to a close, while expressing frustration at times that he could not more aggressively cut spending. Elon Musk jumps on stage as he joins Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. File / AFP In an April 22 Tesla conference call, he signaled he would be significantly scaling back his government work to focus on his businesses. "The federal bureaucracy situation is much worse than I realized," Musk told The Washington Post this week. "I thought there were problems, but it sure is an uphill battle trying to improve things in D.C., to say the least." DOGE GOES ON Musk's 130-day mandate as a special government employee in the Trump administration was set to expire around May 30. The administration has said DOGE's efforts to restructure and shrink the federal government will continue. Several cabinet secretaries are already discussing with the White House how to proceed without further alienating Congressional Republicans. But even as department heads will keep some DOGE infrastructure in place, they will likely move to reassert control over budgets and staffing, sources have told Reuters. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government," Musk said. Trump and DOGE have managed to cut nearly 12%, or 260,000, of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts and early retirement offers, a Reuters review of agency departures found. At the same time, DOGE has hit a number of roadblocks, with federal courts at times propping back up agencies shortly after DOGE had moved to eliminate them. In some cases, staff and funding cuts have led to purchasing bottlenecks, increased costs and a brain drain of scientific and technological talent. The most recent source of friction came on Tuesday when Musk criticized the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress. "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk told CBS News. One source said the billionaire's decision to trash Trump's bill on television deeply upset senior White House aides. His political activities have drawn protests and some investors have called for him to leave his work as Trump's adviser and more closely manage Tesla, which has seen falls in sales and its stock price. Associated Press
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Khaleej Times
KT Plus 150: Know a next-gen trailblazer? Now, nominate them ahead of exclusive summit
In a landmark move to spotlight emerging talent across the Emirates, Khaleej Times is proud to announce the launch of the KT Plus 150 List, UAE — the region's definitive list celebrating the next generation of innovators, trailblazers and leaders across 15 key sectors. Nominations open next week, inviting the public to put forward names of exceptional individuals under 40 who are making a significant impact in fields such as technology, sustainability, finance, media & entertainment, design, health, AI, sports and more. The KT Plus 150 List aims to become the UAE's most anticipated and respected platform for emerging talent — recognising 150 individuals who are shaping the future of the region and the world. 'The KT Plus 150 is more than just a list. It's a celebration of bold passions and fearless thinking. It's about the next wave of leaders who will define the future of the UAE — and the world beyond,' said Ted Kemp, Chief Content Officer of Khaleej Times. 'We're going to recognise those individuals who are not only achieving success early, but who are reimagining what's possible.' Over the coming months, Khaleej Times ' editorial team, together with an esteemed panel of industry judges and mentors, will evaluate nominations and select the final list-makers. The full KT Plus 150 List will be unveiled in Q4 2025, along with the launch of the inaugural KT Plus 150 Summit — an exclusive gathering where investors, mentors, powerbrokers and brands will connect and exchange ideas. 'The KT Plus 150 franchise will be a game-changing platform — built to shine a light on the region's rising stars and give them a stage to tell their stories, inspire others, and build meaningful networks,' said Ahmed Nokari, Head of Multimedia, Khaleej Times, and the brainchild behind the KT Plus social video channel launched last summer. 'We're building something that will grow year after year and become a key part of the UAE's innovation narrative, and a franchise that can be rolled out across the GCC and Mena region.' Nominations open on Wednesday, May 28, and individuals, companies, and institutions are encouraged to put forward rising talent making waves in their respective fields.
