Dubai Property Listings – Internet vs Newspaper

Moreover, the newspaper listings generally happen on a weekly basis. So if a deal has materialised in the meanwhile, there is no way you can check it without actually calling up the owner/broker. On the contrary, the internet Dubai property listings (on a good Dubai listings website) are updated everyday or maybe twice a week. Moreover, new Dubai property listings go up on the internet everyday (i.e. they don't wait for the newspaper to get published). So, if you have been using only the newspaper as your source of Dubai rentals listing information, you might end up getting stale information. You might lose out on a deal that was out on internet, say 2 days before. As such, making the first offer can make a big difference when it comes to Dubai property. Further, you don't need to go through all the Dubai property listings in order to determine the listings that look suitable to you. You can specify various search criteria/ filters in order to get only those Dubai property listings that you really want to look into. This is a big advantage when compared with newspapers where listings are generally classified just on the basis of location of the property. Thus you can save a lot of time here by browsing only through the Dubai property listings that are of interest to you. Moreover, there is no need to note phone numbers etc; you can just take printouts of the listings you want. Some websites also provide tools/ facilities to track those Dubai property listings. You could even contact the sellers by sending a message through the website (some websites provide such email type of facility). Another important benefit from Dubai property listings on internet is that some of them also contain images of the property. So you can have a look at the images and see if you like the property at all.

So, Dubai property listings on the internet do seem to offer a lot of convenience. However, internet or newspaper is really a matter of personal choice too.

Dubai real estate agents are professionals who help in connecting the buyer to the seller. A lot of Dubai real estate agents also do rentals wherein they connect tenants to landlords and even maintain the property on the behalf of the landlords. The Dubai real estate agents work by linking together the two interested parties and charging a commission for their services. For sales, they charge commission only to the seller but for rentals (i.e. agent managed rentals) the commission is charged to both parties involved in the transaction. Dubai real estate agents generally calculate their fee as a percentage of the selling price (in case of sales) and as part of the rent (for rentals). People, who want to sell/let their property, leave the details of their property with the Dubai real estate agent (and in fact, even leave the keys of the house so that the Dubai real estate agent can arrange for viewings without them getting into any hassle). The other interested party (i.e. the buyer/tenant), gets access to this information by contacting the Dubai real estate agent. That's how the Dubai real estate agents become a hub of information.

A lot of home seekers (including Dubai real estate investors) use the services of Dubai real estate agents not just for getting good deals but also getting them quick. Since Dubai real estate agents are probably most familiar with the market situation in their region of operation, it makes sense to approach them to get an idea of the going rate for properties in that region. Dubai real estate agents would generally know the prices of various properties of different types and at various locations in the region.

A property seller can possibly get a few thousands more for his/her property by using the advice received from a good Dubai real estate agent. A good Dubai real estate agent will also analyse the needs of a home buyer/tenant and provide suggestions on what kind of home could be available to them within their budget. So a good Dubai real estate agent will not just throw a list of available properties to the buyer/ tenant but will actually discuss their needs and make a suggestion. This, in fact, works in the favour of Dubai real estate agent in two ways. Firstly, if the Dubai real estate agent is able to sell the house they get their commission and secondly, if they make the buyer happy too they earn a good reputation (and hence more business).

However, it is worth noting that Dubai real estate agents work on seller's behalf. So, beware if they are trying too hard to sell a property.