New homes open up Abu Dhabi to aspirational investors
Abu Dhabi is primed to offer mid-level investors an increasingly wide choice of properties for buyers looking to enter the local real estate market. The second half of the year will see existing residential supply augmented by the handover of 3,500 units at The Gate District, Shams Abu Dhabi and a rush of standalone tower projects, including Beach Towers, Oceanscape and Mangrove Place, as well as the first wave of affordably priced homes located within Hydra Village.
Asteco’s H1 2013 Abu Dhabi real estate market report also notes improved transactional activity over the last few months, with purchasers encouraged by a wider choice of available properties, more variety in terms of affordability and growing confidence buoyed by improved market sentiment driven by price increases in neighbouring Dubai.
"With more units coming on-stream over the next six months and well-established communities offering improved facilities, good quality finishes and attractive leasing prospects, both investors and owner-occupiers are once more eyeing Abu Dhabi for long term investment potential. The ROI and property appreciation in well defined master development areas holds good promise for the future," said John Stevens, Managing Director, Asteco Property Management.
However, the report also urges sellers to be realistic, as recent months have shown a trend towards above market value asking prices, which Asteco says appear to be leading to a slowdown in transactional activity over the coming months.
At the higher end of the market, within developments such as Al Bandar, Al Muneera and Al Zeina at Al Raha Beach there are few properties available below Dhs1,000 per square foot.
Prices are also expected to rise as no new competition is being handed over in the area. However, properties on Al Reem Island are expected to remain flat or even record some declines, impacted by potential weight of supply from the delivery of the Gate District and standalone projects.
Sales price for apartments in Al Zeina at Al Raha Beach grew on average by 16% in Q2 2013, and by 23% year-on-year (Q2 2012 - Q2 2013). Reef Downtown experienced similar gains with a 16% increase from Q1 and 20% year-on-year overall, while Al Bandar posted more modest gains of just 2% quarter-on-quarter, and 15% year-on-year
A two-bedroom apartment in Al Zeina currently sells at Dhs11,907 per square metre, while the Reef Downtown equivalent is valued at Dhs7,106 square metre.
Villa sales prices in Al Raha Gardens and Al Reef Villas made impressive quarterly gains on 12% and 14% respectively, against Q2 2102 figures. Whilst Golf Gardens only managed a modest 3% increase. A three-bedroom house in Al Reef Gardens currently costs an average of Dhs1.6m, while three-bedroom villas in Al Raha Gardens and Golf Gardens are priced at Dhs2.08m and Dhs2.65m respectively.
Echoing Q1 2013 trends, prime residential developments have also experienced steady rental growth in the first half of the year, fuelled by consistent demand and lack of availability, with resulting rental increases of up to 10% year-on-year (Q2 2012-Q2 2013).
High-end communities within the large master plan developments of Al Raha Beach and Al Reem Island report occupancy levels of 65% or more, with Asteco predicting rental rate increases in the mid-term, albeit at a reduced pace.
New towers on Al Reem Island are expected to attract interest from tenants seeking out value for money relocation opportunities, with standalone projects potentially requiring attractive lease incentives from private landlords to persuade tenants to make the move.
The report notes that the flight to quality continues in the rental market where mid-level property rental rates have declined over the last 12 months, bottoming out at their current levels.
This has also prompted Asteco to reclassify Abu Dhabi’s rental market into newly re-banded tiers with the reclassification modelled using a basket of over 25,000 residential units across Abu Dhabi.
"The apartment market, in particular, has undergone considerable change since 2012, as large amounts of better quality supply were delivered. This has meant that projects previously considered high-end are becoming obsolete, and their position in the market reduced to mid- or even low-end status," said Stevens.
New releases in Abu Dhabi, including The Gate District and standalone towers will offer prospective buyers greater choice and opportunity to get onto local property ladder.
New releases in Abu Dhabi, including The Gate District and standalone towers will offer prospective buyers greater choice and opportunity to get onto local property ladder.
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