As rents in Dubai continue to rise to record highs, tenants are under immense pressure. Against this backdrop, the market is quietly changing. Affordable housing neighborhoods are becoming a popular choice, with an influx of new immigrants and pressure on rents driving tenants to move.

Rising rents push tenants to move

Real estate consultants point to affordable housing communities such as Dubai South, Town Square and the northern emirates as the focus of tenants' attention. Key drivers of this trend include:

Influx of new immigrants: residents seeking better career opportunities continue to move to Dubai.

Rental pressure: Existing tenants are moving to cheaper areas due to high rents.

Asteco Property Management emphasizes: “Rental growth in affordable housing communities is indicative of the strong demand for affordable housing. However, despite the rise in rents and occupancy in these areas, tenants remain price-sensitive, and higher-end areas may have increased difficulty attracting tenants.”

Supply and demand conflicts and market adjustments

The Dubai real estate market has experienced rapid growth over the past two years, with an imbalance between supply and demand leading to soaring rents in popular areas.Allsopp & Allsopp Group reported that a recent significant increase in the number of rental listings shows that the market is gradually coming into balance:

The number of new listings is up 65% year-on-year and 33% year-on-year.

Popular areas such as The Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina remain a concentration of high rents, but neighboring areas offer more options.

Flexible payment plans trending

In response to rising rents, more landlords are introducing flexible payment plans, such as allowing tenants to pay rent in installments of four or more checks. This approach eases the financial pressure on tenants and increases the competitiveness of the property.

Allsopp & Allsopp Group further notes that with more available properties and more options for tenants, many families are considering neighborhoods that are a little further away from downtown but with more space and better amenities.