According to a new report from ValuStrat (a consulting firm), in the second quarter of 2022, the rental for Abu Dhabi residences dropped to the record low since 2016. The average occupancy rate in the city is 81%.
The ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) that measures the cost of rent in Abu Dhabi reduced by 3.4% compared to the previous quarter of 2022 and reached 72.3 points, which is 27.7% below the 2016 level. This index is based on five communities with rental apartments and villas.
The rentals were almost 7% lower than last year. The rent for villas reduced by 2.3% quarter-on-quarter and by 6.8% year-on-year, while the rent for apartments dropped by 4.3% quarter-on-quarter and by 7% year-on-year.
Apartments in Al Reef were an exception from this negative trend, as their rentals actually rose. There was also a moderate growth in communities such as MBZ City, Al Reef, and Al Raha. The average occupancy rate in a sample of over 48,000 homes in Abu Dhabi was 80.9%.
An earlier real estate report by the consulting firm Asteco said that citywide rentals in the second quarter were mostly the same as over the first three months of the year.
According to ValuStrat, the average annual rental of a one-bedroom apartment was AED 47,800 (USD 13,016) in the second quarter of 2022. It equaled AED 70,500 (USD 19,193) for two-bedroom apartments and AED 152,000 (USD 41,382) for three-bedroom units. The annual rental of villas was AED 62,100 (USD 16,907) for two-bedroom properties, AED 137,600 (USD 37,462) for three-bedroom properties, and AED 192,150 (USD 52,313) for four-bedroom properties.
