Dubai unveils first-ever residential rental performance index

Dubai Land Department (DLD) launched the first edition of Dubai’s official Residential Rental Performance Index (RRPI).

Top areas that saw the most rental contracts registration in January 2022 according to Ejari Registrations were Jebel Ali First with 1,811 registrations followed by Naif with 1,760. Al Karama (1,754), Al Warsan First (1,601) and Al Suq Al Kabeer (1,457) were also part of the top 5 areas in 2021. These were followed by Business Bay (1,317), Al Nahda Second (1,276), Barsha South (1,192), Marsa Dubai (1,174) and Nadd Hessa (1,098). In total the top 10 areas accounted for 28 per cent of all rental transactions in January 2022.

According to proprietary Property Finder residential search data for rental searches on the platform in 2021, Dubai Marina was the highest searched area, accounting for more than 11 per cent of all searches. This was followed by Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle and Jumeirah Lakes Towers. For Villas/Townhouse the searches in 2021 for rental properties were dominated in Jumeirah, Dubai Hills Estate and The Springs, accounting for approximately 18 per cent of all searches. This was followed by Arabian Ranches and Umm Suqeim showing the extent of demand for properties on Umm Suqeim Road.

In January 2022 the overall monthly Index recorded 0.938 and an index price of Dh51,101 while apartments monthly index recorded 0.943 and an index price of Dh46,994, while Villas/Townhouses monthly Index recorded 0.868 and an index price of Dh 131,882.

The base year for RPPI is 2013 and the base month for the monthly index is January 2013, with the base quarter for the quarterly index being Q1 2013. According to the index, 51,452 leases were recorded in January 2022, 52 per cent of which were new contracts, and 48 per cent were renewed contracts, while 81 per cent of them were annual contracts, and 19 per cent were for non-annual.

For the first time ever, the Dubai RPPI has been released in partnership between DLD and Property Finder. Within this insightful data, there is a plethora of information that is quite notable. In 2021, 564,036 leases throughout the year which broke a 12-year record in terms of volume for real estate rental contracts.

Annual leases increased by 50.3 per cent and non-annual leases increased by 75.5 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020. When comparing the data over the last few years, it is interesting to note that, on average, the annual number of leases has increased by approximately 7.0 per cent over the past 5 years but in 2021 it increased by 56 per cent compared to 2020. However, in 2020, annual leases grew by 2.0 per cent compared to 2019 and non-annual leases increased by 115.2 per cent. Data beats opinion and there are a lot of facts to uncover and release into the market for full transparency.

In January 2022, we saw over 51,452 rental contracts in the Dubai market with an even split between new and renewal contracts. As per Property Finder data the most popular apartments rental contracts were for two-bedroom apartments with 1 bedroom trailing right behind and the most popular villa/townhouse rental contracts were for 3 bedrooms with four bedrooms coming in second place.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com