What your Dubai property broker is not telling you

It may come as a revelation to many, but a new study maintains that real estate professionals across all disciplines in the UAE and across the region are taking home a substantial base salary of Dh44,559 per month.

Another striking fact is that this is about a tenth higher than in 2014, when real estate fared much better in the country.

The ‘Middle East Rewards and Attitudes’ study conducted by property recruitment specialist Macdonald & Company shows that the figure was Dh40,641 per month last year, which means an 11.2 per cent increase in the average salary, a very handsome increment compared to what employees in some of the other sectors in the country are getting or even expecting.

Two out of 5 participants in the study (41 per cent) received a base salary increase this year, and a similar number of participants (44 per cent) received an average annual bonus of Dh84,103 this year.

The report also shows that there still remains a strong appetite from individuals from the UK, Europe, Australia and South Africa to relocate and work in the region and Dubai is still, by far, the first choice as a location in the region.

The 2015 edition of the survey polled 1,127 individuals from across the GCC, Levant and North Africa regions. Among the survey participants, a majority currently work in Dubai, and 56 per cent of participants consider the GCC to be a preferred location to live and work because of financial reasons.

In addition, 70 per cent of participants believe that their organisation will increase headcount this year, with 55 per cent of respondents expecting an improvement in economic activity.

Judging by the salary data, real estate seems to have fared well than most other sectors. According to predictions by Aon Hewitt, a company into talent, retirement and health solutions, UAE employees are in line for an average salary increase of 4.8 per cent in 2015, and this figure is lower when compared to the previous years of 2014 and 2013, when the average hike was reckoned to be 5.1 and 5 per cent, respectively.

On the hiring front, the study reveals that demand for well qualified real estate professionals remains strong, particularly with long-term employment records in the Middle East region and strong finance skills.

“The survey reveals that the UAE’s real estate sector is currently experiencing an interesting employment market,” said Ben Waddilove, Director, Macdonald & Company.

“There are some major new ‘destination’ projects under construction such as Dubai Parks and Blue Waters, which will help attract more visitors and investors in the future,” Waddilove added. “The oil price level over the next year will be a significant factor in determining how the general market moves forward,” he said.

“Our clients are adopting a cautiously optimistic approach to hiring, with a combination of replacement and newly created roles. The consultancies are very busy with portfolio valuations, general advisory and feasibility study work and the major and second tier developers are hiring development managers, project managers and other associated technical staff,” said Waddilove.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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