• Home

Rent hike in Dubai triggers shortage of flats in Sharjah

SHARJAH — A major inflow of people from Dubai after the recent hike in rents has created a shortage of one- and two-bedroom apartments in the emirate of Sharjah.

Property gurus in the emirate say that the recent increase in rents by thousands of dirhams in Dubai has forced people to turn to Sharjah in hunt for cheaper housing facilities. This in turn, they say, has led to a shortage of one- and two-bedroom apartments at desirable rents. Citing another reason for the shortage, they said that delay in power supply to new buildings in Sharjah has also left several people in the limbo.

Says Yasir from Al Shabab Real Estate; “We get 20 calls a day from people in Dubai searching for cheaper housing facilities in Sharjah. This influx has created a shortage of apartments here.”

This inpour, in turn, say the dealers, has led to an increase in rents in Sharjah as well. “Nearly 100 buildings at present are awaiting connection of power supply,” said Yasir, adding that in another two to three months, power was expected to be supplied to several buildings in Al Nahda, Al Taawun and Al Qassimiya areas.

He also said that due to the absence of a regulatory body controlling rents in the emirate, landlords were able to control the prices and quote any price they wanted, depending on the area, location of the building, the quality of construction material used. “Some building owners have increased rents by Dh7,000 at one go,” he said.

He also said that one- and two-bedroom flats in buildings located in Al Nahda area, Buhairah Corniche and Al Taawun areas were available anywhere between Dh25,000 to Dh35,000.

“Despite such high rents, no apartment of my choice is available,” said Moeen Khan, who is looking for a one-bedroom apartment in Al Qassimiya area in Sharjah. “I have visited several areas in Sharjah but in buildings of my choice, I am told by the watchman that there is no vacant apartment,” he said.

“In buildings that I do not like, high rents are being charged for rooms that are like match-boxes and poor construction material is used,” he added.

Manager of Greenland Real Estate, Mohammed Sulaiman, said that though there were many projects coming up, power supply to most of them would be completed only in mid of 2005. “Till then, this shortage is expected to continue,” he added. He also said that because of the high rate of development in the emirate, the delay in power supply was inevitable.