Abu Dhabi house prices surge 2.1% in Q2

This was the first time the VPI has witnessed three consecutive quarters of growth since 2016, aggregating 7.2 per cent since Q4 2020, ValuStrat’s Abu Dhabi Real Estate second quarter report said.

“Annually, capital values were 3.9 per cent higher recovering from the Covid-19 headwinds of last year. The weighted average residential value this quarter was Dh8,816 per sq m (Dh819 per sq ft), apartments stood at Dh 9,634 per sq m (Dh895 per sq ft), and villas at Dh6,867 per sq m (Dh638 per sq ft).

All properties monitored by the VPI saw quarterly growth in capital values ranging from 1.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent. Locations with the highest gains were apartments in Al Reem Island 2.0 per cent, and villas located in Saadiyat Island 2.6 per cent and Mohamed bin Zayed City 2.7 per cent. The second quarter VPI - Residential Rental Values saw a 4.3 per cent quarterly rise, and 4.5 per cent an annual gain to 77.7 points, this was the first positive citywide rental increase in five years. Abu Dhabi’s gross yields averaged 7.4 per cent, for apartments at 7.6 per cent and villas with 6.8 per cent.

During Q2, 855 apartments finished construction in five projects. This constitutes 7.3 per cent of total forecasted new-build units for this year. Notable completions included Y Tower Reem (274 units), Al Faridah Al Zeina Complex (234 units) and Olive Al Raha Beach (162 units). The remaining expected supply for this year stands at 9,871 apartments and 961 villas, said the report.

Nearly 7.0 per cent of the upcoming handovers will be in Al Reem Island (3,407 units), Al Raha Beach (2,765 units) and Yas Island (2,572 units).

During Q2, an estimated 1,233 off-plan properties were launched including Aldhay Bloom Gardens (181 units), Noya Viva and Luma Yas Island (669 units), The Dunes Saadiyat Reserve (83 units) and Jubail Islands townhouses (300 units).

The average citywide residential asking price per square foot during the quarter experienced a record increase of 5.2 per cent QoQ and 3.6 per cent YoY. This was the first positive annual growth observed since 2017, said the report.

The average asking price for ready apartments stood at Dh12,491 per sq m (Dh1,160 per sq ft), up 3.5 per cent QoQ and was relatively stable compared to last year. For ready villas, the average asking price reached a record high and stood at Dh10,596 per sq m (Dh984 per sq ft) indicating asking prices to have jumped 9.3 per cent QoQ and 11.7 per cent YoY.

Overall average residential asking rents grew 4.5 per cent when compared to the same period last year. On a quarterly basis, citywide average asking rents experienced a record increase of 4.9 per cent not seen since 2016.

Apartment asking rents in Abu Dhabi City increased 3.0 per cent YoY and were up 4.9 per cent QoQ.

Citywide villa asking rents grew 6.2 per cent YoY and rose 3.6 per cent QoQ. Notable increases in average asking rents were observed in Al Bandar, Saadiyat Island and MBZ City.

Average annual apartment asking rents were as follows: studios (Dh 50,000), 1-bed (Dh74,000), 2-beds (Dh 118,000), and 3-beds (Dh165,000).

For villas, annual rents for 2-beds were (Dh117,000), 3-beds (Dh140,000) and 4-beds (Dh214,000). — issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com