Dubai’s prime office rents fall to lowest level in nearly 9 years

Dubai’s prime office rents fall to lowest level in nearly 9 years

As the practice of remote working carried on into another year, prime office rents in Dubai continued to fall in the first quarter of the year, hitting the lowest level recorded since around nine years ago, new figures from Knight Frank showed. Average rents of prime offices across the emirate stood at just over 200 dirhams ($54.45) per square foot, which is 4.2 percent lower than a year ago and the lowest since the third quarter of 2012. Citywide, average rates fell by 7.7 percent year-on-year. Millions of workers worldwide were sent home at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak last year and since then, many have not returned to the workplace. According to Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank’s head of Middle East research, the office market is still feeling the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, although “there are pockets of activity emerging”, particularly in the technology-media-telecoms sector. “The increased level of activity stems from rising nationwide business confidence, driven by the world-leading vaccine rollout programme that is allowing a semblance of normality to return,” said Durrani. “Still, this doesn’t take away from the fact that the pandemic has fundamentally altered occupier mindsets, with occupational strategies still under review, with a