Schools are back, holidays are over and there is a loud voice all over Muscat proclaiming rather gleefully, 'rents are falling, negotiate hard with your landlord and get a better deal'. Truth be told, it has been a slow summer in the rental housing market, one which started with an early Ramadan in June and is only now coming to a close. The present economic conditions are forcing the public sector and many private companies to be more austere in their spending and this is naturally being felt in the pockets of Oman's residents.

But expatriates are still arriving, new positions being filled and the constant need for housing is not going to go away any time soon. Certain sectors of the market are plainly over supplied, with many mass apartment buildings having been built in recent years now offering rent free periods, shifting allowances and other inducements to fill their empty rooms. Other sectors of the property market are not so badly affected with only limited adjustments being seen in rental rates over the summer. Modern and well maintained villas and townhomes, ITC property at Al Mouj and Muscat Hills - all seeing continued demand and by and large holding their values.

So, are we in for a continued and massive price correction as some of the blogs and seasoned informants tell us? Probably not. Landlords have been constructively adjusting their rentals downwards throughout the summer period, fully acknowledging the state of the general economy. Some major corporate landlords, without prompting by their estate agents, have sent blanket instructions to lower rents on all their properties and are renewing leases for existing tenants at the same new levels.

The claim that estate agents keep rents high is just wrong – they adjust levels to what their clients instruct them – after all a deal at lower rent is better than no deal at all. There are very few landlords that appear to be resisting the present downturn and we are seeing the evolution of a very mature and informed property market place, reacting in a timely and sensible manner to the general economic conditions.

Diversification is the mainstay of the plans to overcome weaker oil prices and in this light it should be reflected that real estate is an industry in its own right and has a rightful place in the longer term economic plans of Oman.

Not all landlords are mega corporations – many individual's livelihoods depend on renting their property out; so for every tenant grinning with reduced rental, there is chance of a grimacing landlord with a reducing monthly income.

And we are not talking just about Omani nationals - many foreigners have entered into the property industry in Oman by buying in the ITC's and in many instances the rent just covers the mortgage cost.

For foreigners to lose confidence in the Oman property market would be a real setback as the country strives to position itself on the world real estate stage.

There are opportunities to be gained from any economic cycle and this phase should be treated with informed action, not reaction to sensationalism. If as a tenant you have a good landlord who looks after your interests, don't lose this for the sake of saving a few monthly rials. Likewise, a good landlord will seek to keep good tenants and if a slight rental reduction is possible will most likely oblige.

[Christopher J Steel is the Managing Partner of Savills Oman]