Almost half plan to move house in the next 12 months

Almost half of Dubai residents are planning to move house in the next 12 months, according to the results of Time Out’s recent Renting in the UAE survey, which polled 1,500 adult residents of Dubai on their attitudes to renting in the city.

Asked, “are you looking to move property within the UAE in the next 12 months?”, 44 percent said yes, 29 percent said no, while 27 percent said they were undecided.

Of those who said they were looking to move house, 46 percent said their decision to move was impacted by COVID-19.

Despite being spurred by the repercussions of the pandemic, few are looking to downsize – of those who said they were planning to, or were undecided about moving, 50 percent said they would be looking to move to a larger property, 28 percent to a property of the same size and only 12 percent to a smaller property.

Interestingly, 57 percent would be looking to pay less than their current rental agreement, with 28 percent looking to pay the same and 15 percent looking to pay more.

Asked in a multiple-choice question why they were, or would be looking to move, most popular responses including looking for lower rent (55 percent), looking for more space (49 percent), looking for better community facilities (37 percent), wanting a garden (22 percent), wanting to be closer to work (17 percent), closer to attractions or amenities (17 percent), closer to a Metro station (13 percent) or wanting a private pool (9 percent).

Of the ten percent who selected “other”, the majority of responses said they would be looking for a newer, cleaner or better quality building, or a property with either more affordable chiller fees, or no separate chiller fees. Other responses included finding a pet-friendly building and plans to purchase a property as reasons for a potential move.

Time Out’s Renting in the UAE survey, which collected responses from adults living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, ran from August 30 to September 23, 2020, polled 1,500 individuals in Dubai and 700 individuals in Abu Dhabi. The survey also found that half of Dubai residents had seen their rent decrease in the same property in the past 12 months.

For the full Dubai-specific results of Time Out’s Renting in the UAE survey, click here to read the latest issue of Time Out Dubai.

For more on Time Out’s Renting in the UAE survey, click here.