The Dubai Marina, Al Reem Island and Khalifa City A were some of the most popular search locations for people looking for both rent and sale properties, dubizzle revealed in its 2015 annual property report.
The property report found that the most desirable locations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi garnered a total of 121 million searches on dubizzle in 2015. Dubai Marina received 91 million searches overall for both rent and sale properties, with over 68 million searches just for rent. Al Reem Island is most popular for searches for properties for sale at six million, and Khalifa City A received the most searches for rental properties at 24 million.
In terms of type of accommodation searched for, in Abu Dhabi, two-bedroom apartments were the most sought after in the popular Reem Island community both for rent and sale, while one-bedroom apartments were the most popular search criteria in Dubai Marina. This variation in the types of units reflects the difference in demographics and lifestyle between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi's property seeker is predominately small families, unlike the single professional or young couple in Dubai who would opt for a one-bedroom instead. Following the Marina in popularity was International City with over 47 million searches, JLT with over 42 million searches and Business Bay for office space with just over 30 million searches. Rounding up the top five communities searched for on dubizzle's property section last year was Downtown Dubai, which received just under 30 million searches. Al Nahda, Deira, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) and the Palm Jumeirah ranked sixth to tenth for most searched communities to rent last year, with search volumes of just above 27 million for Al Nahda, just over 26 million for Deira, just over 24 million for Al Barsha. JVC had over 23 million searches.
This, in addition to the fact that the luxurious Palm Jumeirah showed similar search volumes as JVC, perhaps reveals that Dubai residents are increasingly looking for more affordable accommodation.
"Our report has shown that more affordable communities such as JVC and Dubai Sports City made the top 10 most searched communities, highlighting the need for more affordable housing for both end-users and the savvy investor, who sees higher rental yields coming from such areas. As of December 2015, the price per square foot in these two communities was recorded at a reasonable rate of Dh918 per square foot. Office space in Business Bay ranked eight in the top 10 property types searched, which shows an increased demand for commercial space over the year that clearly outstrips supply," said Ann Boothello, product marketing manager for property at dubizzle.
