Dubai Rents Plunge Most Since 2014 as Oil Rout Hits Jobs

Residential rents in Dubai, where the majority of the population is foreign, declined the most on a monthly basis since the property peak of two years ago, according to Phidar Advisory. “Landlords are finding it more difficult to rent homes, especially larger and more expensive ones,” according to Jesse Downs, managing director at Phidar, an advisory firm specializing in real estate. That is mostly due to “recent job losses and a decline in job-growth rates.”  Home rents fell by 1.3 percent in May, the biggest drop since May 2014, Downs said in a phone interview on Sunday. Since the peak, home rents have fallen at a compound monthly rate of 0.3 percent. The decline signals further weakness in rents and prices ahead, Downs said. Dubai is experiencing a delayed economic impact to the collapse in oil prices that has led some companies to reduce spending and trim their workforce. Many of those who lost their jobs, such as some banking and oil services employees, chose to remain in the city until the end of school year, she said.