Dubai is seeing a sudden uptick in the influx of job-seeking young professionals from Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, besides from the neighbouring countries in the Middle East on the back of more and more international and regional companies expanding into the emirate, pushing up demand for buying and renting of residential properties, industry insiders said.
Interestingly, a number of social media influencers are also seen to be moving to the city, of late, amidst Dubai’s rise as a hub for content creation, besides the venue for events and collaborations.
Many business owners are also moving to the emirate to either establish new businesses or to grow their businesses in Dubai, industry insiders said.
While the spike in expat influx is leading to a demand for residential properties, the demand, however, is for less expensive properties – for purchases as well as renting – as the current inflow of expats mostly comprises what the industry terms as ‘budgetary’ investors.
The current lot of expat home buyers in Dubai are mostly looking for apartments in the price range of $200,000 to $400,000 – as against the earlier trend of more million-dollar purchases – and AED 5,000 to 7,000 for rentals even though the actual rental price in the city is said to start from AED 11,000.
“Of late, we are seeing a large number of young professionals from Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, besides some of the countries in the Middle East coming to Dubai.
“Most of them come for work when their company opens offices in Dubai or to seek employment locally in Dubai at large corporations,” Olga Poletskaya, Head of investment department at Colife Invest, the investment advisory arm of globally leading property management and rental services firm Colife, told Arabian Business.
Senior executives at other real estate consultancies in the city also confirmed the trend.
Influencers, businesses flock to Dubai
These executives said among the new lot of new expat migrants to Dubai are many businessmen who either want to set up new businesses or want to explore growing their businesses in Dubai.
Additionally, there is a new trend of influencers moving to the city, they said, adding that Dubai’s rising status as the hub for content creation and hosting events, including global events and collaborations could be the reason for it.
The new entrants are the new demand pushers for residential real estate, with either seeking to buy or take properties on rent in the city, they said.
“The current trend, however, is toward purchasing less expensive properties, in the range of $200,000 to $400,000,” Poletskaya said.
“This year the market is growing, but not as quickly as it did in 2022-2023. Mostly select areas in the city such as Dubai Creek Harbour are seeing a significant rise in property prices as more buildings are being constructed and put into operation in these areas,” she said.
The announcement about the opening of a new metro station in Dubai Creek Harbour has also added to the demand and accompanied a price hike in the area, the Colife Invest head said.
Owners compete for tenants, investing in unique renovations
Industry insiders said the current relatively subdued demand for rentals is leading to a situation of owners competing for tenants and resorting to unique renovations or home staging to put their houses in the limelight.
The senior executive of Colife, a major player in the rental services sector, said the current demand is for more budget-friendly housing.
“Despite the high demand and the start of the high season – which starts from September with the peak season being from November to February – we receive many inquiries in the price range of AED 5,000 to AED 7,000, even though the actual average rental price for an apartment is from AED 11,000.
“For AED 7,000, we can only find a studio,” she said.
Executives at other property management services firms said investors who buy apartments to rent often request for costly renovations or home staging to make their property stand out from others.
“They seek something unique and memorable in the design and furnishings of the apartment,” a senior executive with a city-based proptech said.
Poletskaya said: “Owners are competing for tenants. That’s the current state of the market.”
She said the most sought-after areas for renting are Dubai Marina, JLT, and Business Bay.
Deira is also in demand, but mainly due to budget considerations; this is the only key factor here, she said.
As for buying, Dubai Marina, JLT, Dubai Hills, Dubai Creek Harbour, Downtown and Business Bay are among the preferred ones.
Factors such as having good infrastructure for living, besides high demand from tenants for these areas are cited as the reasons for buyer preferences for these Dubai neighbourhoods.
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