Rent: Abu Dhabi in the Spotlight!

Abu Dhabi, UAE After much has been said about the rising cost of living in Dubai, it seems Abu Dhabi is ready to follow suit!

Gulf News today reports rents in Abu Dhabi saw a 17% spike (compared to the earlier year period by Department of Planning and Economy). The rising rents are mainly due to the double combo of growing demand and rising construction costs.

Excerpt of the report:

The study said that those receiving less income are the most vulnerable against increasing rents, as they allocate more than 50 per cent of their salaries to housing compared to an average of 23 per cent allocated by those receiving higher incomes.

With such influence, rents accounted for 58 per cent of the total inflation rates in 2006 and 2007, compared to 16 per cent for goods and services, 15 per cent for transport and 11 per cent for food and beverages.

 

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Increasing rents
Year / Location	City Centre		Corniche
Premises	2 rooms	3 rooms	2 rooms	3 rooms
2003	48,000	60,000	72,000	84,000
2004	52,000	62,000	76,000	88,000
2005	52,500	70,000	80,000	90,000
2006	54,000	79,000	83,000	102,000
2007	55,000	90,000	85,000	131,000
2008 *	57,750	116,000	89,000	168,000
* Average rents for the first quarter in 2008.

Full report here