UAE – Mubasher: Abu Dhabi’s real estate market saw subdued conditions and relatively unchanged performance across most sectors during the first three months of 2019, JLL said in a report released on Tuesday at Cityscape Abu Dhabi 2019.
The GCC emirate’s real estate market sentiment is expected to grow in the long-run, encouraged by the government’s initiatives announced over the course of 2018 in a bid to stimulate demand and drive diversified economic growth from the capital’s real estate sector, the world’s leading real estate advisory firm added.
In Q1-19, the market witnessed an increase in the number of enquiries and is projected to stabilise by the end of 2019, with limited expected declines in rent for Grade A space, according to the report.
“In the long run, demand for office space could be generated by the easing of regulations and the major stimulus package announced by the government last year. Demand could also come from private sector businesses following the new law formalising the public-private partnership (PPP) programme,” Peter Stebbings, head of Abu Dhabi Office at JLL, said.
As for the residential and retail sectors, occupancy levels remained largely unchanged with rents continuing to decline due to subdued market sentiment and limited demand, the report highlighted.
“The hospitality market registered a significant increase in ADRs at 19% to reach $138, attributed mainly to a number of high profile events allowing hotels to capitalise on an increase in visitors to the capital,” JLL said.
Occupancy levels remained stable at 79% in YT February, compared to the same period last year.
It is worth noting that the government has provided an AED 50 billion stimulus package, in addition to introducing new visa rules in an effort to encourage expats to stay longer in the UAE, according to a recent study released by Chestertons.
“Until the combined effects of those initiatives have been realised, we expect investors and tenants to remain cautious,” Ivana Vucinic, head of Consulting at Chestertons MENA, said.
