Housing rents in Abu Dhabi's newest neighbourhoods rose by more than a seventh in 2013, housing analysts estimate, as tenants in the capital braced for the effects of the government's decision to remove a rent cap.
According to new figures set to be published next week by Jones Lang LaSalle and data published yesterday by the website propertyfinder.ae, rents in the most popular parts of the city increased by an average of 16.7 per cent last year.
Jones Lang LaSalle, which is set to publish its housing data next week, reported that the average annual rent for a selection of two-bedroom apartments it monitors in the capital increased from Dh120,000 at the start of the year to Dh130,000 in the second quarter and then to Dh140,000 in the final three months of 2013.
Meanwhile propertyfinder.ae, which annually lists more than 270,000 properties across the country, reported that the average asking rents for all categories of homes it advertised in the areas of Reem Island, Khalifa City, Al Reef, Al Raha Beach and Khalidiya also increased by 16.7 per cent over the period, with a two-bedroom apartment in Khalidiya now costing an annual rent of Dh124,769.
The website’s listings showed big variations in asking rents across the city’s neighbourhoods.
The highest increases in asking rents were reported for two-bedroom apartments on Reem Island which rose by a surprising 58 per cent over the year from Dh131,424 a year to Dh208,445. At the same time, asking rents for studio apartments in Khalidiya rose by 59 per cent over the period from Dh47,000 to Dh75,000.
The property portal cautioned that both sets of rent increases could be because of statistical anomalies. Studio flats have comprised a small proportion of property stock in the city and during the 12 months the number of homes available on Reem Island has increased significantly, with new luxury developments being completed at Gate Towers and Mangrove Place.
On Reem Island, which was the website’s most searched for neighbourhood in Abu Dhabi last year, clocking up 18.4 per cent of all Abu Dhabi property views on propertyfinder.ae, asking rents on average rose by 20.8 per cent. Asking rents for studio apartments on the island increased 10 per cent to Dh75,000 and asking rents for one-bedroom apartments rose 7.38 per cent to Dh96,076.
For Khalifa City, which was the second most searched for neighbourhood in the capital during 2013 with 11.3 per cent of the city’s property views, asking rents increased by an average of 23 per cent, researchers found. Asking rents for studio apartments in Khalifa City increased 23 per cent over the year to Dh32,174, while rents for one-bedroom apartments rose 35 per cent to Dh65,274. Two-bedroom apartments also increased 25 per cent to Dh117,864.
Property experts started to report rent increases in Abu Dhabi’s newest neighbourhoods last year as the city was able to capitalise on rent increases in Dubai and a new decree requiring all Abu Dhabi government employees to reside in the capital. However, rents in older neighbourhoods are expected to remain stable or fall.
According to the property agent Cluttons, average rents in the city rose 4.5 per cent during the second quarter of the year and then by another 1 per cent during the third quarter.
A decision at the end of last year to rescind a rule limiting the amount landlords were allowed to put up rents for existing tenants to 5 per cent, is also expected to result in further rent increases this year.
“Rents in Abu Dhabi are still going up and we expect that trend to continue in 2014,” said Craig Plumb, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Dubai office. “We can’t definitively say whether that is due to the removal of the rent cap or not yet but the fact that rents appear to have increased significantly in the final quarter of the year could be down to the government decree coming into force.”
He added that the average increase of 16.7 per cent was slightly less than that the agency had reported in Dubai, where average rents for two-bedroom apartments increased by 18 per cent over the same period.
“It is still probably too early to see what the effect of removing the rent cap is having on rents in Abu Dhabi,” said Michael Lahyani, the chief executive and founder of propertyfinder.ae. “Over the course of the year we expect to see rents in the prime areas continue to increase, while rents in the sub prime areas of the city will stabilise as the market continues to recover.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Hamilton profile
Age 32
Country United Kingdom
Grands Prix entered 198
Pole positions 67
Wins 57
Podiums 110
Points 2,423
World Championships 3
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
More on Quran memorisation:
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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