Dubai And Bangkok Lead World Rental Market

Rents continue to rise across prime global property markets, with Dubai and Bangkok leading the way in Savills’ latest index.

25 of the 30 cities monitored in the firm’s Prime Residential World Cities Index saw rental values increase over the course of 2024, by an average of +4.3%.

Prime residential rents are still climbing faster than capital values, but the gap is narrowing as interest rates fall. The average yield across the 30 cities in 2024 was 3.15% – up five basis points from 2023, as rental markets recorded stronger growth than the sales markets.

Dubai saw the highest rate of rental price inflation last year, surging up 23.5% to top the 2016 market peak as the Middle Eastern hub continues to attract affluent international migrants.

Bangkok is in second place, with +15.4% annual growth in 2024, followed by Kuala Lumpur (+12.2%).

Lisbon’s market seems to be cooling to a more stable position. After rocketing +30% in 2023, prime rents in the Portuguese capital increased by another 10.5% in 2024 – but the pace of growth eased to +2.8% through the second half of the year.

Other European cities have seen strong rental growth in 2024, with Barcelona, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Athens each reporting increases of more than 5% for the year.

Cities in China and Singapore saw “less robust” rental growth last year, reports Savills. Some Chinese cities saw rents fall – including Beijing (-0.1%), Hangzhou (-0.6%),Guangzhou (-2.3%), and Shenzhen (-3.5%).