We do however expect there to be rental cost information provided for any type of housing that is generally available and used by expatriates. If availability is tight so perhaps there is not much or nothing currently available for a given size of apartment but would be rented if it were to become available, then please report “what the relevant rental range would be, if it were available”. [Later in the survey we will ask you about general availability.] .
Please also indicate the average size for each type of property – in either square meters or square feet and again you may report relevant ranges (“low – high”)
Some basic assumptions to keep in mind when determining most typical rental values:
■ “Diplomatic/Exclusive” rents must be more expensive than “Expensive” rents
■ “Expensive” rents must be more expensive than “Moderate” rents
■ “Moderate” rents must be more expensive than “Less Expensive” rents
and
■ 2 bedroom apartments must be less expensive than 3 bedroom apartments, 3 bedroom houses must be less expensive than 4 bedroom houses, and so on
Individual properties may reflect the top or the bottom end of their applicable range. That is why it is important to report only “most typical” or “average” rent levels and not rents only for specific properties that happen to be available when you are doing the survey. This is also why there is space to report a relevant range, instead of listing one rental value per size/type.
In some locations, especially smaller cities, we realize as stated earlier that there may not be a clear cut delineation between neighborhoods and relative costs – i.e. that high to low rental costs could cut across all or several neighborhoods or that it may not be the neighborhood that is the primary determinant of cost but rather proximity to public transport, views, whether the property has a pool, etc. In this case, while it may not be realistic to associate a specific neighborhood with a specific cost category (e.g. Expensive or Moderate), it should still be possible to delineate rental costs by Most Expensive rents, Expensive, Moderate, etc