Here in the US, property records are public documents and you can easily go to your county courthouse or city hall and research who owns what, how much they paid for it, etc. It doesn’t necessarily work like that elsewhere, not in Dubai for sure.

In early 2009, the Dubai Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) announced that it will be working on a comprehensive real estate survey that will lead to a real estate price chart that will consist of the rates of differing property bands within various areas of Dubai.

This is definitely a move in the positive and more transparent direction. However, real estate experts debated regarding the effect that the move will have on the purchase, sale and rental of Dubai real estate.

There are always two sides to a coin. In spite of the intentions of the move, the published list by the RERA will be used by landlords to increase real estate rentals to match other nearby properties within the area where rents are high.

On the other hand, the price transparency will have to be enforced uniformly across the Emirate and higher rental areas may have to come down to match the lower rental units within their areas. This will completely change the Dubai real estate platform.

The price list guide will be compiled after extensive data gathering from apartments, condos and villas in Dubai. The comprehensive list will include details such as the unit size, bedrooms, bathrooms and facilities that come with a condo or apartment community.

The real estate price index is meant to be a guiding document for tenants and landlords along with those interested in buying Dubai real estate. When finished, the price list will be the most comprehensive survey of its kind executed in Dubai real estate.

It will be an all inclusive study of the region as a whole. RERA is currently (2008) in the data gathering stages and is planning on completing the list sometime in 2009. I will keep you updated on its progress and its impact on Dubai’s real estate market.

Only time will tell how the use of the RERA’s list will influence real estate prices in Dubai. It has definitely been long overdue and is necessary if Dubai is to continue moving forward in the direction it has been growing.

Investors want confidence and certainty, at least value investors do. I believe the extent of speculative investors have all already invested in Dubai and it is time for the value investor to determine if it “makes sense” to invest there.

To do this, transparency and data integrity is very important. Dubai has definitely taken the right step in initiative the property price chart project.