According to a new report by CBRE, in the 12 months to July 2022, average residential rents in Dubai increased by 23.7%. This represents the highest annual growth since May 2014.

Average apartment and villa rents increased by 23.5% and 24.8% respectively, which translates – as at July 2022 – into average apartment rents of $22,600, and for villas a figure of $71,000 per annum.

In the rental market, the highest annual apartment and villa rents were in Palm Jumeirah, where rents on average were $59,830, and in Al Barari, where rents on average were $251,833.

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Meanwhile, the total volume of transactions in Dubai’s residential market reached 6,524 in July 2022, up 58% from a year earlier. Over this period, off-plan sales increased by 59% and secondary market sales by 57.1%. Total transaction volumes in the year to date to July 2022 reached 45,793 – the highest total recorded since 2009.

As at July 2022, average apartment prices in Dubai stood at $303 per sqft and average villa prices stood at $363 per sqft. Compared to the highs witnessed in late 2014, these rates per square foot are 25.1% and 7.6% below the peak, for apartments and villas, respectively.

Taimur Khan, Head of Research – MENA at CBRE in Dubai, commented: “Despite the summer period, which usually sees more subdued activity levels, sales activity in Dubai’s residential market remained buoyant in July 2022, with 6,524 units transacting in the month, up 50.8% from a year earlier.”

In terms of the top three locations for apartment rental growth, in the 12 months to July 2022, rents in Palm Jumeirah, Downtown and Dubai Marina saw rents increase by 39.8%, 38.4% and 35.7% on average, respectively.”

In August 2022, Sharjah said its new ‘Holiday Homes Project’ is set to diversify its economic growth, while later in the month, the CBRE noted that Bahrain’s real estate transaction volumes are on a positive trajectory.