When Will Demographics And Demand Drive Housing Education Prices?

Carla Maria Issa, senior research analyst at Property Finder, examines how supply and demand could create a shift in the UAE’s housing and education markets.

Housing and education are both generally considered public goods, meaning they are offered to the public without profit and for the benefit of society. Given that expatriates make up approximately 86 per cent of the population in the UAE, the highest dichotomy between nationals and expatriates in the world, these commodities are privatised in the UAE and are for-profit when it comes to expatriates’ consumption.

Recent reports have cited the exorbitant costs of private education in Dubai and, considering public schools are not an option for most expatriates, the private sector is a sort of forced choice. Mohamed Alabbar, the founder and chairman of Emaar Properties, spoke out against school operators in 2017 saying “tuition costs were beyond what any human being could afford”.

The current average tuition fee per annum, excluding nursery school, is Dhs36,410 across Dubai.

Equally so, despite the average asking price for residential property falling more than 30 per cent since 2016, according to Property Finder’s asking price data, property ownership in Dubai is still unattainable for the majority. According to the Dubai Land Department’s sales transaction data for the past six months, the average apartment in Dubai costs Dhs1.3m and the average villa/ townhouse costs Dhs2.8m. These figures are considering both secondary and off-plan units combined.