Most desirable locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi garner a total of 121 million searches on dubizzle in 2015
Dubai Marina received 91 million searches overall for both rent and sale properties, with over 68 million searches just for rent
Al Reem Island is most popular for searches for properties for sale at 6 million and Khalifa City A received the most searches - 24 million - for rental properties
Business Bay is the only commercial area, to rent or buy office space, to appear in dubizzle's top 10 searches
Most expensive area to buy in Abu Dhabi is Al Raha Beach at AED 1651 per sq ft and most affordable is Hydra Village at AED 643 per sq ft
In Dubai, the most expensive area to buy is The World Islands at AED 3466 per sq ft and the most affordable is International City at AED 700 per sq ft
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - dubizzle - the UAE's leading classifieds website - has revealed its 2015 annual property report, disclosing top property trends in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These include most searched for communities and property types, most expensive and affordable communities and the nationalities looking to rent and buy in the two emirates. The report also shows December 2015 median prices for sale and rent in communities along the Dubai Metro.
Commenting on this year's report Ann Boothello, Product Marketing Manager for Property at dubizzle, said: " Our report has shown that more affordable communities such as JVC and Dubai Sports City made the Top 10 most searched communities, highlighting the need for more affordable housing for both end-users and the savvy investor who sees higher rental yields coming from such areas. As of December 2015, the price per sq ft in these two communities was recorded at a reasonable rate of AED 918 per sq ft. Office space in Business Bay ranked 8 in the top 10 property types searched, which shows an increased demand for commercial space over the year that clearly outstrips supply."
In terms of type of accommodation searched for, in Abu Dhabi, two-bedroom apartments were the most sought after in the popular Reem Island community both for rent and sale, while one-bedroom apartments were the most popular search criteria in Dubai Marina. This variation in the types of units reflects the difference in demographics and lifestyle between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi's property seeker is predominately small families unlike the single professional or young couple in Dubai who would opt for a one-bedroom instead.
A comparison of the average rental price for one-bedroom apartments close to the Burj Khalifa metro station, i.e. in Downtown Dubai in 2014 versus 2015 has shown a drop from AED 120K in 2014 to 115K last year, revealing that prices of rental units in these premium communities are stabilising.
"Overall, property trends in 2015 show that UAE residents are heavily consulting dubizzle for a mix of high-end and affordable property to both rent and buy," concluded Boothello. "In addition, despite the slowdown of infrastructural developments due to the petro-dollar decline, we can see major developments are still underway, especially with EXPO 2020 fast approaching. One such example is the Canal Project, which is already in phase 2."
Top 10 most searched communities for rent in Dubai
Dubai Marina holds top spot as one of Dubai's most desirable areas for tenants, with over 68 million searches in 2015. Following the Marina in popularity was International City with over 47 million searches, JLT with over 42 million searches and Business Bay for office space with just over 30 million searches. Rounding up the top five communities searched for on dubizzle's property section last year was Downtown Dubai, which received just under 30 million searches.
Al Nahda, Deira, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) and the Palm Jumeirah ranked 6th to 10th for most searched communities to rent last year, with search volumes of just above 27 million for Al Nahda, just over 26 million for Deira, just over 24 million for Al Barsha. JVC had over 23 million searches. This, in addition to the fact that the luxurious Palm Jumeirah showed similar search volumes as JVC, perhaps reveals that Dubai residents are increasingly looking for more affordable accommodation.
The most searched property types for rent within these communities were as follows:
Dubai Marina
| One-bedroom apartments
|
International City
| Studio apartments
|
JLT
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Business Bay
| Office space
|
Downtown Dubai
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Al Nahda
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
Deira
| Studio apartments
|
Al Barsha
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Jumeirah Village Circle
| One-bedroom apartments
|
The Palm Jumeirah
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
Top 10 most searched communities for rent in Abu Dhabi
In the metropolis of Abu Dhabi, dubizzlers primarily favoured Khalifa City A properties in 2015 making it the most searched community for those looking to rent, with over 24 million searches.
Al Reem Island and Mohammed Bin Zayed City followed with over 17 million searches. The Tourist Club Area, Al Muroor, Al Markaziyah and Al Khalidiyah followed with over 8 million searches for each area. Al Ghadeer, Al Mushrif and Gate District were the three least searched communities in last year with 7 million, 5 million and 5 million searches respectively.
The most searched property types for rent within these communities were as follows:
Khalifa City A
| Studio apartments
|
Al Reem Island
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
Mohammed Bin Zayed City
| Studio apartments
|
Tourist Club Area
| Three-bedroom apartments
|
Al Muroor
| Studio Apartments
|
Al Markaziyah
| Three-bedroom apartments
|
Al Khalidiyah
| Three bedroom apartments
|
Al Ghadeer
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Al Mushrif
| Studio apartments
|
Gate District
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Top 10 most searched communities for sale in Dubai
The Dubai Marina continued to lead in both the rental and sale market with over 23 million searches made on for sale properties in this district last year. Following suit, JLT and Downtown Dubai both received just over 15 million searches, with Jumeirah Village Circle also proving popular with just over 13 million searches. Business Bay, The Palm Jumeirah and International City received over 11 million searches each throughout 2015.
In the more suburban areas, Dubai Sports City, Arabian Ranches and The Springs made 8th, 9th and 10th place with over 10 million, 8 million and 7 million searches respectively.
The most searched property types for sale within these communities were as follows:
Dubai Marina
| One-bedroom apartments
|
JLT
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Downtown Dubai
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
Jumeirah Village Circle
| One-bedroom apartments
|
Business Bay
| Office Space
|
The Palm Jumeirah
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
International City
| One bedroom apartments
|
Dubai Sports City
| One bedroom apartments
|
Arabian Ranches
| Three bedroom Villas
|
The Springs
| Three bedroom Villas
|
Top 10 most searched communities for sale in Abu Dhabi
The 2015 report revealed Al Reem Island as the most searched by dubizzlers looking to invest in a home in the capital, with over 6 million searches, followed by the Shams Abu Dhabi community, which received just over 2 million searches.
Al Ghadeer, Al Reef, Tamouh Marina Square, Gate District and Al Ghadeer Village proved a little less popular, with searches in the 1 million range. Al Raha Gardens, Hydra Village and City of Lights took the last 3 spots in the Top 10 list amongst dubizzlers looking to buy in Abu Dhabi with just over 700,000, 600,000 and 600,000 searches respectively.
The most searched property types for sale within these communities were as follows:
Al Reem Island
| Two-bedroom apartments
|
Shams Abu Dhabi
|
