The first official rental index has been launched in Dubai

Amidst the ongoing digitalization of the real estate sector, Dubai has announced the launch of the first-ever official Residential Rental Performance Index (RRPI). The report was created in conjunction with one of the leading property portals; Property Finder, and its first edition features plenty of data which will be used to analyze and maximize the transparency of the local rental market. As Lynette Sacchetto, Director of Research and Data at Property Finder Group, said:

It is such a pleasure to have access to this vast amount of data and truly analyze how the rental market has performed. Data beats opinion and there are a lot of facts to uncover and release into the market for full transparency.

That being said, the base year for the index is 2013, the base month is January 2013 and Q1 2013 is the base quarter.

According to the newly released RRPI, Dubai recorded a total of 564,036 leases in 2021, having broken a 12-year record regarding the volume of rental contracts. This surge can be attributed to the multiple long-term visa options, employment opportunities and beneficial business conditions, among other factors.  In January 2022, 51,452 leases were registered, out of which 32% were new and 48% were  renewed contracts. Moreover, 81% of these were annual contracts and 19% accounted for non-annual contracts. As the Property Finder data demonstrates, the most in-demand apartment rental contracts were for 2-bedroom units followed by 1-bedroom property options. As for villas/townhouses, prospective tenants tend to choose 3-bedroom properties, with 4-bedroom residences taking second position.

The top performing area in terms of rental contract registrations was Jebel Ali First, followed by Naif, Al Karama, Al Warsan First, Al Souq Al Kabeer and Business Bay. Dubai Marina led the list of the top looked-for areas on Property Finder, as the district accounted for over 11% of all searches. Other popular areas included Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle and Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

Earlier this year (2022), the DLD signed an MoU with 3 real estate companies, including Bayut, DXBinteract.com and Property Finder, to provide detailed interactive data regarding current property prices, the stages of construction and other informative information. These initiatives are set to promote the position of Dubai as a leading global real estate destination, enabling investors to make a more informed decision based on the thorough analysis of the property market.