The survey says: affordable rents

We ask TaskSpotting users about affordable housing

Plans for a new Dubai housing development.  Courtesy Admares
Powered by automated translation

The cost of living is a perennial topic of discussion across the world. In Abu Dhabi, the conversation is normally centred on the debate about rents and this week we asked 4,808 TaskSpotting users for their views on affordable housing.

TaskSpotting describes itself as the region’s only advocate marketing platform and pitches our questions to its app community who typically engage with brands to create content, spread awareness and share feedback.

More than 90 per cent of those asked said that rents were too high. In addition, 60 per cent of users reported that their rents had risen this year.

With these type of responses, it is easy to understand why 97 per cent said that the country needs more affordable housing.

There are several initiatives that authorities can take to address the problem of affordable housing. A number of new developments will come online in 2017, which will inject fresh housing stock into the market and possibly lower rent costs.

There are also individual choices that families can make to save costs. Moving to a smaller house or saving money on groceries are tried and true measures that can lower household costs.