The residents of the UAE have already offered a warm welcome to Etihad Rail, prompting the public transport service to offer additional services on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi route.
While this will ease transport woes for residents, the launch of Etihad Rail between the two biggest emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai could have a detrimental effect on rent.
According to Betterhomes, a real estate agency based in the UAE, rents could respond before sale prices, and buyers and tenants will now factor an operating rail connection into decisions about where to live. The Abu Dhabi terminus at Mohamed Bin Zayed City Passenger Train Station is located near a residential area, and the impact will be first visible in enquiries and viewing requests in communities close to stations, the real estate agency says.
Nada Osman, Director of Betterhomes Abu Dhabi, said: “Rail gives people certainty about the commute, and certainty is what buyers pay for. We expect to see it in rents near the stations first, with sale prices following as that demand settles in.”
"The network isn't finished, with more stations following through March 2027. But the leg that mattered most, Abu Dhabi to Dubai, stopped being hypothetical today. What Abu Dhabi's real estate market makes of that will take longer to measure, but the questions buyers and tenants are asking have already started to change," stated Osman.
"For residents and investors, a functioning rail network changes what's worth asking about a property's location. Commute time to Dubai stops being theoretical and becomes a published schedule. Proximity to a station becomes a checkable fact, not a masterplan claim," she added.
The change is yet to come, the agency added. However, earlier reports mention how the Etihad Rail's launch is causing a significant Abu Dhabi rent hike, impacting Indian expatriates with increases up to 25%.
According to real estate developers, the high-speed train could help boost property values by 30 per cent along the route. The effect is already evident on the ground, according to reports. Indian expatriates complain that the rent has been hiked by 5 to 25 per cent.
