People are always looking for having their own homes in some peaceful area like Dubai. Since the Dubai property prices are currently at their lowest, sellers are looking forward to sell their homes at better prices right now. As experts have predicted a double dip in prices of Dubai properties, sellers who are not familiar with the property sale procedure in Dubai are hiring real estate agents to sell their homes quickly and at a fair price.

 Steps to locate a right real estate agent to sell your home

Have a look at these steps to choose the right real estate agent for selling your home.

Ask from people who have sold their homes – Searching for the right customer to sell off your home is not an easy task. Your home is your precious asset that you probably would not like to go in anyone’s hands. In order to locate a perfect buyer for your home, you may ask for references from people who sold their home recently. This way you can get in touch with the right agent who has sound knowledge and experience of closing the deal successfully.

Invite your real estate agent to your home - It is essential to interact and communicate properly with your chosen real estate agent. The best way to do this is to invite the real estate agent to your home for an introductory meeting, so that you could sit and discuss all the important details with him. Spending good time with your agent will enable you to build trust on him. Once the trust is built, you would feel satisfied that you are giving your home in the hands of the right person.

 Collect all information of your home in a sheet – Before selling your home, you should collect all information about your house in a sheet that should highlight the best qualities of your home. Usually, the real estate agent overlooks these essential features of your home in hurry and giving him a file highlighting the qualities of your house, helps him to present this information to the buyer. Buyers before making any decision are always interested to know what makes your home apart from the rest.

 Make a commitment to stick with a particular agent – You spend time, money, and efforts to find a right real estate agent who meets your expectations. This is why you give your precious home in his hands. It is useless and time consuming, if you keep changing your agent without any need. Make commitment to one agent and stick to him. Changing your agent every now and then is not only difficult but time and money consuming as well.

Thus, if you follow the above steps, you would definitely locate right real estate agent for you. Wish you a happy home selling experience!

It is predicted that the selling prices of the residential properties in Dubai will continue to decline till the mid-2012, which would be the time when prices will hit the bottom level in real. Even after that, the recovery cannot be expected because the inorganic supply of the properties expected to add to the market in 2012, will not allow the prices to appreciate quickly.

The prices are expected to remain stagnant after mid-2012 for some months and the year 2013 would finally be the year, when there would be something to cheer about Dubai real estate. This would be the year when the actual improvement in the prices of properties would be recorded which would be backed by original demand of properties.

The Dubai rental market performed much better in 2011 clearly indicating 11% increase in rents in the fourth quarter. Even the 90% of the new supply of the apartments, marked 3% increase in rents in contrast to the earlier times, when apartment rentals were showing constant declines. The rental market is showing good recovery because landlords are offering better rates and flexible terms and conditions to lure tenants towards their properties.

The housing market is unfortunately not ready for the improvement before 2013. This is because oversupply and the tight mortgage lending criteria is still hampering buyers decision to invest in them. The lack of demand and constant supply added to the market in 2011 brought down the prices of the properties in Downtown, Burj Dubai, and Dubai Marina in the fourth quarter to almost 11%. This trend of decline in prices is likely to continue till mid 2012.

The prediction states that increase in number of realty transactions is expected in 2012 because the low rents and the status of Dubai as a safe heaven will attract foreigners and locals to increase the demand of rental as well as buying properties in Dubai. Despite that, 38000 new units are expected to add in 2012 to the market, which will not allow the kick-start to recovery before 2013.

According to the latest report, overall corporate earnings in the year 2011 have showed tremendous increase as compared to 2010. The UAE economy showed 3.3% growth in the year 2011 but the economy in 2012 is expected to grow by 3.8%. This economic growth is expected to rebound the corporate earnings in Dubai. A sustained growth of the corporate sector is expected through out all the quarters of 2012.

The corporate earnings in the following year are expected to show 23% growth. These higher corporate earnings will encourage businessmen to grow their businesses. The companies will open up new branches and hire new staff for management and operations of their businesses, which will create more jobs in the UAE. The job creation will bring in foreigners looking forward to the best employment opportunities to come and settle over here, which will increase the demand of Dubai properties.

The higher demand is expected to originate which will match with the oversupply to derive again the prices of the properties up. This is how corporate earnings can boost the prices of Dubai rental and available for sale properties. Since unemployment remained the major problem behind Dubai real estate crash, the problem if fixed now can bring good news about real estate recovery soon, otherwise recovery cannot be expected sooner than 2015.

The revenues of the Telecom sector are predicted to grow this year by 6% whereas the banks are likely to report a growth of 26%. Experts are predicting better times ahead as a result of these higher corporate earnings and are desperately waiting for the time when finally there would be something to cheer about Dubai real estate.

It is expected that the mid-2012 would be the time for Dubai real estate when prices of the properties will touch the bottom level in real. However, despite that recovery cannot be expected even after mid-2012 due to the heavy supply of the residential units expected to add to the market in the year. Some experts are even not predicating much demand as they think people are still hesitant to invest in Dubai properties. In contrast to what the reports highlight, the year 2011 remained another challenging year for Dubai real estate.

On the other hand, the prices of properties in Abu Dhabi are expected to fall by another 15% in the following year. On the other hand, rents in Abu Dhabi are also predicted to fall by another 10% during the year after which the recovery can be expected. Abu Dhabi property prices will continue to decline because the crises hit Abu Dhabi real estate late as compared to Dubai real estate and so this sector will also spring back to life late.

Average prices of the residential units in Dubai fell by 12% in Dubai where as in Abu Dhabi the average prices of residential properties dipped by 17% in the previous year. Apartments in both the Emirates showed overall decline in prices, except in just few good areas, where prices showed stagnancy. Prices of villas and their rents opposed to apartments showed slight increase in prices. Though overall in 2011, Dubai real estate prices declined but this is evident that the rate of decline slowed down as compared to the rate of decline we noticed in 2009 and 2010. Still if we look at the trend of prices in 2011, we cannot predict quick price recovery in 2012.

Prices are expected to continue their declining trend in 2012, unless they touch the bottom level. Once they will touch the bottom level in mid 2012, it is not necessary that they will start recovering. They can also remain stagnant unless demand originates and problem of over supply resolves to push the prices up.

Off plan properties are basically pre-construction properties that do not exist physically. When Dubai real estate was experiencing boom, the demand of off plan properties was at its peak. Many real estate developers traded off plan properties successfully and made good profits. But when the global recession hitDubai real estate sector in 2008, off plan properties were the first to suffer. This is because off plan properties are pre-construction properties and it was really hard to create their demand in the market when the buyers’ confidence even on the ready properties was very low.

Why to invest in Off plan properties?

Investing in off plan properties is a long term investment which yields greater profits without getting worried about the temporary slumps. The investors hoping to invest in off plan properties are basically the speculators who expect substantial capital gains on this investment. The developers who offer off plan properties normally offer discounts and other financial incentives to the early investors of the off plan properties. These incentives along with the capital growth make off plan property investment the most lucrative investment inDubai.

Things to look out for before investment

Though off plan property investment whether for buy or Dubai rental provides greater yields yet this investment is risky. In order to make a well informed decision, buyers must look out for certain things before making such investments.

1. Always keep in mind that off plan properties will bring high yields in long term. Currently as experts are predicating better times forDubaireal estate ahead, investing in off plan property would be a very wise idea. If you want to earn yields in short term, you should better consider investing in ready properties.
2. Before making an investment, always conduct a background check on the developer. Check out his reliability by looking at his previous records, the number of the projects he has delivered and check out if he has delivered them in time or not. You can also check out his reputation on the internet or can talk to its previous clients.
3. During bad times, many real estate projects were halted and even till today, in order to control the supplyDubaigovernment cancels various projects from time to time. So, make sure you visit the site of the construction to see the actual work being taken on the site. Stay away from the developers who show architectural pictures and maps to mislead the investors. Also check the status of the project from RERA from time to time.
4. Always try to invest in the property located near the central city. Many developers start projects at far off places which take double the amount of the time for completion than their normal time. Moreover, the capital gains on such Dubai properties are also less and their growth takes much time.

The slow down of the rate of the deceleration of property prices has shown that Dubaireal estate still holds potential to fight against oversupply and recovery would just take another year to kick start. Believing in the performance of the Dubai properties in 2011, one group pf experts are predicating marginal declines in property prices in the New Year 2012. This is because though almost 10700 apartments and 1300 villas are expected to add to the market in the next six months yet this supply would be steady and will match with the rising demand to bring more stability in prices.

Because of the regional unrest in other parts of the world, worldwide foreigners including those from the Arab countries are expected to raise the demand of the properties through out all the areas ofDubaiin the next year. Only the demand in poorly managed and low quality buildings is expected to remain less in few localities which can bring overall minor declines in property prices.

The strong signs of Dubaireal estate moving towards recovery have been noticed in all the four quarters of the year 2011 due to increased number of real estate transactions. If we look at the Dubai rental market, we will notice that the rentals have increased in all the prime areas ofDubai exceptInternationalCity, which showed slight decrease in rental rates. This overall better activity in 2011 has let experts to think best performance in 2012. They are of the view that even if the prices will fall, this decrease would be marginal.

The demand of the Dubai properties has risen in the fourth successive quarter as well. Especially the demand of the Established City remained at its peak. The huge interest of the foreigners in Dubai real estate sector has increased the number of transactions, which clearly indicates that Dubai realty market is now recovering. Dubai rental market in the last quarter of 2011 showed strong signs of recovery with the rents of the apartments stabilizing in all prime and mid sized locations. Only the rents in International City have showed slight decrease otherwise due to huge relocation of businesses in Emirate, the demand of rental properties have remained considerable.

The apartment rental rates showed stabilization in the first six months of 2011 whereas the villa prices remained comparatively stable through out the year. All the major areas of Dubai like Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah lake Towers, Sheikh Zayed Road, Downtown Dubai, Emirates Living, and Arabian Ranches showed increase in demand of properties. Hence, the year 2011 is ending with a positive note for Dubai real estate sector.

The stakeholders of Dubai real estate are hoping better times for Dubai real estate in the next year. It is expected that the marginal price decline would be there in the forthcoming year. However, 10700 new apartments and 1300 villas have been planned to add in the market in the first six months yet it is expected that the increase in demand will offset this pressure of oversupply. The market is slowly moving towards maturity and the brick start to recovery in 2012 will make it a mature market in true sense. Experts are of the view that finally, there would be something to cheer about Dubai real estate in 2012 and they are desperately waiting for that time.

In 2011, it has been reported that Dubai hotel sector is responsible for boosting residential and retail sectors as they are showing better performance for the last nine months consecutively. Due to the greater volatility in the other regions of the world and Dubai, being the hot spot for the tourists is attracting people from all over the world to reschedule their holidays to Dubai. This is making Dubai once again the much sought after destinations of the world.

The major area responsible for benefitting the Dubai hotel sector to this extent is Arab Spring. Not only this, Arab Spring is also boosting residential and retail sectors of Dubai real estate market. In the first quarter of 2011, Arab Spring has showed remarking performance due to the greater number of GCC nationals visiting Dubai. Thus occupancy rate in 2011 almost stood at 78%, which is quite better than the poor performance months.

All the major hotels of Dubai like Jumeirah beach hotel, Holiday inn Express Dubai, Hilton Dubai creek, Citimax Hotels, Al Hamra hotel etc are showing good occupancy rates. The major reason behind it is that the tourists are making their comeback to Dubai. Dubai airport showed year on year arrivals of 9.8 percent, which indicates greater number of tourists coming to visit the country.

The tourism sector, if on hand, is boosting Dubai hotel sector then on the other hand, it is boosting retail sector as well. These tourists shop from the Dubai shopping Malls because Malls are recording better sale activities. With already so many hot tourist destinations in Dubai, Government is planning to build more hotels and structures for tourists and uplift its real estate sector through it. As Dubai hotel sector is showing signs of resilience, experts are predicting better times ahead for Dubai rental and overall real estate market.

The latest news show that Abu Dhabi has extended the rental cap on rent increases to 9^th November 2012. According to the state run news agency, if landlords would increase the rentals during the entire tenancy period, it should always range between 0-5%. This rent cap will protect tenants because during the tenancy period they would not be charged rental increase of more than 5%.

When the property sector was flourishing in UAE, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi introduced price caps to protect the investors. The rent cap is expected to provide many benefits, which can boost Abu Dhabi real estate in the long run. These benefits are discussed below:

Transparency

Since 2010, reports on performance of UAE real estate show stabilization or slight recovery in property prices. Some experts believe this recovery is fake because property owners are increasing rents or prices based on their feel good factor and this increase in prices is not backed by increase in demand. This is contributing to non-transparency of the market. This rental cap will bring transparency in the market because landlords cannot raise rents beyond a certain specified limit.

Stabilization

As this rent cap would be applicable on the rents of all properties in Abu Dhabi and it will prevent rental hikes so we can say it’s a step to set the track of Abu Dhabi realty markets towards stabilization. With the extension of this cap, government has plans to uplift the market and set its track towards stabilization and once the market will be stabilized, government will take steps for its recovery. The recovery taken through it would be even and uniform and due to its pervasiveness, it will bring good change in Dubai real estate sector as well.

According to a recent report, if we compare property transactions in 2011 from 2009, we will see 37% increase in property transactions in 2011. Since the beginning of the year, small spurts of growth have been witnessed on month on month basis. In Q3 of 2011, slight recovery has been reported in some projects like Arabian Ranches and palm Jumeirah. Many experts noticed more demand in Business Bay and witnessed this demand filling up quickly. Moreover, in many areas, Q3 results showed increase in Dubai rentals.

Despite of this gradual stability, many experts believe in the Moody’s predication according to which price recovery cannot be initiated sooner than 2016. These people are expecting a double dip in prices in near future. The new supply of 33000 units to hit in the market by the end of 2012 is making their belief even more firm. These experts are of the view that Dubai property sector will roar back to its original condition in 2020.

However, a good number of experts are still optimist and believe the worst of Dubai property sector has been over and overall prices are gradually moving towards stabilization. These experts believe that Dubai properties still hold reasonable values and small spurts of growth being witnessed in prime locations and high quality properties in Dubai will pile up to bring overall positive change in this sector soon.