Dubai property may not recover until 2011

The Dubai property market might not recover until late 2011 as a consequence of weak demand, according to a fresh report by Egypt-based investment bank EFG Hermes.

However, EFG Hermes does expect recent clarifications from the UAE government on home ownership to now improve investor sentiment.

Multiple-entry visas for expatriate UAE property owners, who qualify, will be issued from 1 June, officials announced earlier this month.

Overseas nationals buying property in the UAE will have to meet a set of requirements set out by the authorities. According to the ruling, the property should be worth at least £180,000, it should already have been completed, it should be wholly owned by the investor and the owner must earn a monthly income of at least £1,800 or equivalent in foreign currencies.

Real estate firm: Dubai rents drop 23 pct in 1Q

New research has shown Dubai residential rental prices dropped 23 percent in the first quarter of 2009 as the economic downturn forced foreign workers to pull out of the fast-expanding city.

Thursday's report by real estate company CB Richard Ellis has attributed the decline to job losses among expatriates, a drop in tourism and a considerable new supply of homes.

CBRE says the biggest declines have been in the newest developments built for job-seeking foreigners who had flooded into the oil-rich Persian Gulf's business and tourism capital during the boom years.

Prices in state-owned developer Nakheel's Discovery Gardens took the biggest hit, with rents falling by a third since late last year.