Residential rents dip by 8% in Oman this year

Muscat: Rents in Oman have fallen more than eight per cent this year, according to a newly released data.
Read also: Landlords nervous as rents in Oman fall
While some sought after areas in the capital, such as Shatti Al Qurum, saw rents dropping by more than 20 per cent, areas such as Bausher and Al Mouj were able to buck the trend, according to a report by real estate services agency Cluttons.
Owners say they have been drastically reducing rents, while local business owners have welcomed the drop in the hope that residents will have more disposable income to spend.
“In the residential market, average rental rates fell by a further 2.3 per cent during Q3, bringing the total decline for 2016 to 8.1 per cent. On an annual basis, the weakest performing residential submarket was Shatti Al Qurum, where rents fell 21.1 per cent, followed by Sur Al Hadid at 20.8 per cent and Qurum at 17.9 per cent.
On a more positive note, during the third quarter, rents remained unchanged in two submarkets, Bausher and Sur Al Hadid,” according to a report by Cluttons. Faisal Durrani, Head of Research at Cluttons, noted, “The prospects for an immediate turnaround in the residential market remain unlikely and, given the country’s reliance on the oil and gas sector, the outlook for the residential market remains weak.”
“During the spring we forecast residential rents to end the year 10 per cent to 15 per cent down, overall, and it appears we are on track to achieve that, reflecting the average decline in tenants’ budgets of 10 per cent to 20 per cent recorded this year,” he noted.