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Dubai: Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) - billed as the world's largest single-phase project - could dramatically affect the local rental property market when it comes online this summer, insiders say.
More than 6,500 apartments are due to be released to owners over the next 10 weeks, and many will turn their apartments over to rentals and flood the existing market, said Karl Markarian, property consultant at RE/MAX Unlimited.
Markarian predicted rental prices could dip in Dubai Marina and surrounding areas as a result of the new supply, creating a windfall opportunity for new renters.
"Prices for one-year rentals could go down by five to 10 per cent, which is a good sign for the market," Markarian told Gulf News, adding that the savings should stimulate new demand in a market known for elevated prices.
"We were losing a lot of customers because prices were too high," Markarian added.
But what's good for the consumer doesn't bode as well for investors, noted Myles Bush, leasing manager of Easy Property Group.
Worry
Bush said many in the rental property industry are jittery about the effects of such an avalanche of new units becoming available.
"There is a slight worry and sense of fear among investors and real estate agents that we're talking to," Bush said.
Tight traffic patterns in Dubai Marina could also be affected.
With the addition of as many as 25,000 new residents living in Jumeirah Beach Residence, and around 15,000 cars overall, the project could complicate traffic flows already dealing with construction detours.
Jumeirah Lake Towers Interchange (Interchange No. 5.5), scheduled for completion in August, has been designed to ease traffic to and from new Dubai Marina projects.
Jumeirah Beach Residence, which encompasses 36 residential towers and four hotels, hit several snags during the construction of this freehold mixed-use development, resulting in delays of at least six months that caused a flak among investors.
Officials at Dubai Properties, the developers of the project, highlighted volatility in the price and availability of construction materials such as steel, as well as restrictions on site access and availability of labour as factors which hampered progress.
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