RAK Market Intelligence — April 2026

April continued the deceleration, but the weight shifted from price to rent. The sales price index eased 0.32%, from 332.90 to 331.84 — the mildest monthly move in the recent softening. The rent index fell 3.70%, from 146.71 to 141.29, the sharpest monthly rent decline in this series and a full reversal of the pattern that made February notable.

Year-on-year, price growth decelerated further to 32.04%, from 39.01% in March. That continues the base-effect normalisation flagged in prior months: the strong gains of early 2025 are now embedded in the comparison. Gross yield eased to 2.83% from 2.93%, the rent fall outpacing the price fall.

On the macro side, the ECB held at 2.00% on 30 April and the BoE held at 3.75% on the same day, an 8–1 vote with one member dissenting for a hike. Sterling and the euro both firmed against the pegged dirham over the month (GBP/AED +2.15%, EUR/AED +1.12%), a marginal pricing headwind for European buyers.

One month of faster rent decline is not a trend, but it interrupts the tentative rent-recovery read from February. The direction of travel for both indices is now down, and April is the clearest single data point supporting the more cautious framing. It does not signal distress: the price index remains 32% above a year earlier. The question of whether this is consolidation or a sustained change in direction is still open.