UAE residents with Dh8000 salary look to buy property in Dubai

The launch of affordable housing projects in Dubai is making UAE residents, with salaries of even Dh8,000 a month, consider the option of becoming home owners.

A new report by compareit4me.com, a finance comparison website, points to the “renter to owner” movement with home mortgage enquiries going up substantially in the first four months of 2016, particularly salary earners of between Dh8,000 and Dh19,999 per month showing a three-fold increase in March and April.

The increase registered is based on the average number of enquiries received in past 22 months. Similarly, those falling in the salary bracket of Dh12,000 to Dh14,999 a month saw a growth of 240 per cent in March and 260 per cent in April, while Dh15,000 to Dh19,999 bracket earners showed an increase of 96 per cent in March and 150 per cent in April.

Prices of off plan affordable projects for studio units range between Dh375,000 and Dh450,000 in Dubai Investment Park, Arjan and Dubailand. Though apartment sizes are small, low prices allows people with low salaries to buy an apartment.

compareit4me.com CEO Jon Richards says: “The UAE’s new mortgage cap rules, announced in October 2015, teamed with the cascading effects of the drop in crude oil prices certainly had an impact on the general public’s attitude to real estate. Added to this, the strong US dollar – and therefore dirham – and the subsequent retraction of attention from foreign investors all culminated together to create falling housing prices, resulting in hesitancy in the market.”