The problem in the whole region now - even here in South UAE, is that years ago, company accommodation was provided at a low rate.
Nowadays, companies are no longer providing included accommodation and the locals are charging through the roof for rent.
What they don't realise is that ex-pats only come here for the tax-free salary and the cheap overheads and as soon as that is not happening anymore then we're gone.
If companies start building their own compounds again, because ex-pats are not willing to spend a quarter of their salaries on a house, then the locals are going to be screwed.
I know one local here who has a villa that three years ago, he was getting 300 rials a month for and now he's getting 1200 a month for it.
On the strength of that, he has now borrowed money to build two more, and figures he'll get 1200 for each of those, bringing him a nice earner for life.......me thinks he might have misjudged this.
The trend at the moment is that people are going home now. They just won't take this kind of crap accommodation at that price. There's no point.
Will be interesting to see how the locals manage to deal with trying to sell property at a loss in a few years.