Investing / Analysis
Match the premises to the business activity
An office, a shop and a business showroom can have very different physical requirements even at a similar size. The search should begin with the activity the premises must support.
THE NEWSROOM / TOPICS
Dubai Commercial Property: Offices & Retail
Dubai office and retail analysis for occupiers and owners: rents, supply, fit-out costs and the practical checks behind a commercial shortlist.
Latest reading
19–36 of 56 stories · Newest published first
Markets / Analysis
Use rental comparisons at building level
An office asking rent is a proposal. A useful rental comparison needs evidence close enough to the target premises to help assess that proposal.
Markets / Analysis
An office search starts with operating requirements
An office is an operating environment as well as an address. The requirements that recur every working day should lead the search.
Markets / Analysis
Compare commercial and residential risks separately
Residential and commercial investments can expose an owner to different tenants, costs and operating constraints. Comparing them through one advertised yield can hide those differences.
Markets / Analysis
More construction does not mean every office suits you
Additional construction does not automatically create more space that meets a specific office brief. Building age, fit-out, location and readiness can all change the comparison.
Markets / Analysis
Build a commercial rent budget that survives surprises
A commercial rent budget needs to survive the opening period as well as an ordinary month. Upfront costs and irregular obligations deserve their own schedule.
Markets / Analysis
Residential and commercial property need different tests
A change in apartment rents does not automatically establish a change in office or retail economics. Different premises need different occupier evidence.
Investing / Analysis
Business Bay and JLT: compare the daily working environment
An office comparison between Business Bay and JLT should focus on actual buildings and daily journeys. Neither location can be reduced to a single rent or working experience.
Markets / Analysis
Commercial buyers need a unit-level decision
Buying commercial property needs a decision at unit level. Activity in the wider market does not establish whether a particular office or shop is worth its asking price.
Markets / Analysis
Office rents: test the evidence behind an asking price
An office rental figure becomes useful only when its basis is understood. Asking prices, incentives and completed lease terms are not interchangeable.
Markets / Analysis
New developers, completed projects and your shortlist
A developer entering the market and a project reaching completion are different events. Neither, alone, establishes the availability or suitability of a specific commercial unit.
Markets / Analysis
Flexible payments do not replace a suitable office
Flexible payments can improve timing for an occupier, but they do not make unsuitable space workable. The property and the payment arrangement need separate tests.
Markets / Analysis
Reading a changing commercial market
A commercial market headline often compresses several different measures into a short claim. A useful reading separates transactions, rents, supply and actual availability.
Markets / Analysis
Fitted offices: compare convenience with cost
A fitted office can reduce some work before occupation, but the existing fit-out may not suit the next user. Convenience should be tested rather than assumed.
Markets / Analysis
A commercial purchase needs an exit plan
A commercial purchase should have an exit plan as well as an entry price. That plan needs to recognise who might buy the asset and what would make it usable to them.
Markets / Analysis
Three Dubai office districts, several different building types
Buildings within the same office district can differ substantially. A location comparison should therefore preserve the details that matter to the occupier.
Markets / Analysis
Choosing between an office, showroom and warehouse
An office, showroom and warehouse solve different business problems. Comparing their rent per square foot without an operational specification can produce a misleading shortlist.
Markets / Analysis
Compare residential and commercial leasing on their own terms
Residential and commercial leasing should be examined on their own terms. An observation about one tenant group does not establish the behaviour of another.