Abu Dhabi rents are forecast to slow to single-digit percentage increases this year due to lower government spending, consultancy JLL said at the opening of the Cityscape exhibition.

Rents in the UAE capital rose by 11% last year and 17% in 2013, as the market bounced back from the financial downturn.

“We expect there to be a reduction in government spending this year with rental growth reducing to single-digit levels, and stabilization as further supply enters the market,” JLL said in a report.

Property sales prices grew by 25 percent in both 2013 and 2014 – a rate that is “not sustainable”, said David Dudley, regional director at JLL. The consultancy forecasts sales prices to remain stable this year.

The decline in oil prices “has impacted the market but things are generally pretty positive, pretty stable,” Dudley said.