Smaller offices in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) are commanding a 15-20 percent higher rent than the market average due to a lack of availability of similar unit sizes, according to a new report.
The latest Dubai Office Report from CORE revealed average rentals remained flat across most submarkets throughout the third quarter of 2016.
The report also showed that, after a sharp annual drop of more than 20 percent, rents have finally bottomed out in Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT), with the lower rental range seeing no change from Q2 to Q3.
Grade A buildings in Downtown Dubai saw a 5 percent increase in the upper rental range due to very high occupancy levels, the report added.
It also said that Business Bay continues to see increased enquiries from small to mid-sized occupiers, especially from start-ups and SMEs and was able to maintain its average rents throughout Q3.
CEO David Godchaux said: “With the marginal softening of rentals in core business districts over the last few quarters, Dubai is increasingly becoming favourable for international occupiers looking to expand in this gateway city.
“Interestingly, Dubai offers attractive rents and strikingly lower overall lease acquisition costs for both financial corporations as well as creative/SME firms when compared to other global cities.”
Regarding Downtown Dubai, he added: “As HSBC is expected to move into its purpose-built facility by the end of 2017, we expect its current office in Emaar Square to also come to market, adding the only near-term stock to the district.”
