Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has initiated a sweeping overhaul to tackle deceptive online property advertisements, marking a pivotal moment in the city’s real estate arena.
Under the latest directives, RERA aims to slash property sales ads by up to 40 percent across various real estate platforms.
This crackdown targets the rampant misuse of developers’ No Objection Certificates, often exploited by agents to inundate digital platforms with individual property listings, leading to an overcrowded marketplace fraught with misinformation.
The move has garnered a positive reception from industry stakeholders, who lauded the new regulations for bolstering buyer confidence and solidifying the UAE’s commitment to upholding ethical business standards, a facet that had been overlooked in the past.
Central to RERA’s strategy is the introduction of digital form A, the official advertising permit for rental properties. This innovative measure is poised to eliminate 50 percent of current online property rental ads, aligning with RERA’s overarching objective of enhancing transparency and authenticity in property listings and facilitating more informed decisions for stakeholders including buyers, sellers, and tenants.
The anticipated decline in property advertisements is expected to yield several immediate impacts. Firstly, stakeholders can anticipate streamlined decision-making processes, unencumbered by the proliferation of misleading ads. Secondly, the reduced listings could expedite transaction times, potentially leading to an uptick in prices as demand outstrips supply.
RERA’s unequivocal stance mandates that every online property ad accurately represents the promoted real estate, encompassing specifications and pricing. This approach is not only aimed at safeguarding consumers but also at fostering a more transparent and trustworthy market environment conducive to sustainable growth.
Despite the imposition of stringent regulations, certain real estate agents and portals have persisted in adopting creative interpretations of RERA’s advertising guidelines, inadvertently perpetuating a complex landscape of responsibilities among market participants.
The ramifications of tolerating numerous unreliable property listings are multifaceted and profound:
Portals risk reputational damage due to inaccuracies and unavailable listings, which can distort market perceptions and undermine compliance with RERA regulations.
Developers may face discrepancies between listed and actual property valuations, potentially eroding trust among investors.
Legitimate listings from reputable real estate companies may find themselves overshadowed by non-compliant listings, leading to diminished market visibility.
Investors could encounter heightened competition from undercutting or misrepresented listings, posing challenges in identifying genuine investment opportunities. Compliant real estate agents may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to those adopting a more lax approach, potentially impacting their market competitiveness.
Market statistics and performance indicators risk being skewed by inaccurate listings, complicating the assessment of absorption rates and genuine market trends.
Accurate reflection of market dynamics, such as absorption rates and property turnover, becomes increasingly challenging amidst a sea of misleading listings.
In response to these concerns, Dubai’s real estate brokers have been directed by the Dubai Land Department to promptly remove any listings that are no longer available for sale or rent from digital platforms, within a three-day deadline from February 15, 2024.
A recent survey conducted by Khaleej Times unveiled that 21.5 percent of respondents were enticed by advertisements for homes that were either sold or unavailable, with an additional 32.4 percent expressing dissatisfaction with discrepancies between advertised and actual properties.
Dubai’s regulatory authority recently imposed fines of Dh50,000 on 30 real estate companies for breaching advertising terms and conditions, underscoring the commitment to market transparency amidst unprecedented post-pandemic expansion.
In the UAE, numerous websites facilitate real estate transactions.
Notably, Dubai witnessed real estate transactions totalling Dh634 billion in 2023, representing a nearly 17 percent surge from the previous year, with approximately 71,000 investors venturing into the market for the first time, a testament to the enduring allure and resilience of Dubai’s real estate sector amidst global economic shifts.
