Private residences stand on the East Fronds branch of the Palm Jumeirah artificial island, a Nakheel development, off the coast of Dubai on Wednesday. Real estate consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle said yesterday it expects average real estate prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to soften further in 2012 as more supply comes online, regional political instability continues and the European debt crisis deepens. “2011 was a difficult year for real estate investors with most sectors of the market moving in the favour of tenants, with lower prices and rentals. While these trends appear likely to continue into 2012, the main trend is likely to be an increasing polarisation within each sector of the market,” said Alan Robertson, chief executive officer of Jones Lang LaSalle Mena. “As the performance of the best quality projects will improve, average prices are expected to decline further in 2012 within this increasingly two tier market,” he added. The company didn’t provide a specific forecast for the anticipated drop in prices. Despite further project cancellations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2012, Jones Lang LaSalle sees office space in Dubai rising by 1.1mn sq m in 2012 versus 803,000 sq m in 2011. Residential space is seen rising by 23,000 units versus 13,000 units in 2011. In Abu Dhabi, JLL sees office space rising by 395,000 sq m in 2012 versus 270,000 sq m in 2011, while residential is seen rising by 18,000 units versus 10,000 units in 2011