Areas along the Green Line provide residents with the most affordable one-bedroom options

Living in proximity of a Dubai Metro station has its perks: you can abstain from driving to work, the traffic logjams and get a wink of sleep en route to work. But, be prepared to shell a few extra rental bucks to your landlord for this privilege.

We tied up with dubizzle to compare rents for one-bedroom apartments near Metro stations across Dubai.

Areas along the Green Line – one of the two lines in the Dubai Metro network passing through Bur Dubai and Deira primarily – provide residents with the most affordable one-bedroom options, starting at an average of Dh55,000 a year in Hor Al Anz, which has easy access to the Al Qiyada Metro stop. However, this represents an annual rental premium of Dh5,000 in comparison with average rents in Hor Al Anz which range from Dh35,000 to Dh50,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, according to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority’s rental index.

This rental premium goes up to Dh7,000 a year if you opt to rent a 1-bedroom apartment near a Metro station in Satwa, where average rents range from Dh40,000 to Dh60,000. One-bedroom apartments located near the Metro line start at an average of Dh67,000 per year in Al Satwa, with accessible stations including World Trade Centre, Emirates Towers and Financial Centre.

“Tenants call us based on attractive advertised rents since most of them are very price-sensitive. A few do ask to be near transport links but their main focus is to get a property at an affordable price. Our experience is showing that tenants are not willing to pay higher rents at the moment, just to be nearer a Metro station,” says Mario Volpi, chief sales officer, Kensington Exclusive Properties.

The second most economical area along the Dubai Metro is Al Qusais where it costs Dh58,000 to rent a 1-bed apartment a year as opposed to the average rents of Dh45,000 to Dh55,000.

Ranked as the eighth most affordable area, one-bedroom apartments in Discovery Gardens close to the Ibn Battuta station start at an average of Dh68,000 per year. Average rents in the area range from Dh55,000 to Dh75,000.

For those tenants worried about an impending rent hike in the wake of the Metro extension to the Expo 2020 site, market experts have some respite to offer.

“In areas such as DIP and Al Furjan where access to public transport is limited, the construction of the Metro extension will surely lead to an increase in rental prices only after the construction is complete. Before completion, the construction would be more of a hindrance; therefore, prices are not expected to inflate during construction,” says Kalpesh Sampat, COO of SPF Realty.

“As with all areas that are close or linked to transportation, rents and sales prices will increase eventually but this rate of increase will only be determined by the economic climate at the time. Any increases in rent will only take effect when the offering [transport] is already in use. Therefore, these increases will still take time to come through,” adds Volpi.

At the other end of the spectrum, the most expensive one-bedroom apartments to rent near Metro stations are in Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment near a Metro station in Downtown Dubai is Dh115,000, while average rents in the area range from Dh80,000 to Dh105,000 per year.

Meanwhile, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment near a Metro station in Dubai Marina is Dh95,000, according to dubizzle. Average rents in the area range from Dh70,000 to Dh110,000.

“Prices in Downtown Dubai will continue to remain strong. Besides it being a self-sustained, premium development with a rich community feel, the opening of the Dubai Opera in June 2016 has now made it a destination entertainment hub for locals and tourists alike,” says Ann Boothello, senior product marketing manager, dubizzle Property.

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