Friday 16 January 2009

Rent in ajman

Despite the more than 30 per cent increase in rents in 2008, Ajman rents are the cheapest compared to Dubai or Sharjah.

Fast access of the emirate via the Emirates Road is also forcing people from as far away as Dubai to Ajman.

Flats in Al Nuaimiya, Zahra and Hamidya are high in demand because they are near the highway and it takes about 20 minutes to get to Dubai from here, one agent said.

By next year 7,000 new apartments will be ready for rent, according to Alison Wilkinson, real estate agent at Northern Emirates Property.

A two-bedroom apartment in Al Nuaimiya is renting at between Dh35,000 and Dh45,000. "You can't find a two bed-room flat in Sharjah today," she said.

According to one agent from Memon Real Estate, rents in Ajman have shot up by Dh6,000 to Dh7,000.

A market analyst said a two-bedroom luxury flat in Dubai is now renting at Dh90,000. A mid-level flat in Bur Dubai or Karama is renting between Dh70,000 and Dh80,000, she said. "Rents are going exorbitantly high despite the 15 per cent cap."

She said there will be an "excess of apartments" in Dubai in the near future, but said it is difficult to predict how that would impact on rents because of the way inflation is now headed.

The other reason why rents are rising in Ajman is because of lack of new rental properties, one agent said.

Most of the new towers being built are for sale, not rent, according to Tariq Salahuddin from Al Ruwaid real estate agency.

Apartments in 20 new residential towers in Karama are for sale, he said, adding that in Al Nuaimiya 17 towers are nearing completion and most of them have been sold.

There is also hectic construction activity on Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street on the way to Ras Al Khaimah, apparently to also attract property buyers from the adjoining emirate.

Unlike Sharjah, where rents cannot be legally increased in the first three years, Ajman has no such law and landlords can hike it every year. But unlike other emirates, renters do not have to pay "key money" or a guarantee deposit in Ajman.

The rental market in the Northern Emirates is expected to pick up even more after the summer holidays, sometime in August, the agents said.

Rents less than half of Dubai
Rents in fairly new apartment buildings in popular districts
EmirateTwo bedroom
AjmanDh33,000 to Dh45,000
SharjahDh40,000 to Dh60,000
DubaiDh70,000 to Dh120,000