Property guide · Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Buying property in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
What flats in Dubai really sell for, area by area; what you pay on top of the price; how off-plan payment plans work; and who builds what in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
- EmiratesDubai · Abu Dhabi
- Checked2026-09-08
Areas
Where the sales are
The areas with the most flat sales registered in 2026, each with its median price per square metre from the Land Department.
Dubai South
AED 13,280/m²DLDAll flats, registered sales
Freehold flats around Al Maktoum Airport, mostly bought off-plan: prices paid per square metre, drive times to both airports, an airport expansion still ahead.
Jumeirah Village Circle
AED 15,596/m²DLDAll flats, registered sales
Flats and villas in Nakheel's Jumeirah Village Circle, mostly built by other developers: prices paid per square metre, parks, Circle Mall, and no metro yet.
Dubailand
AED 15,349/m²DLDDubai Land Residence Complex: all flats, registered sales
A marketing name for south-east Dubai: villa communities such as DAMAC Lagoons and DAMAC Islands, flat prices per square metre, Global Village, no metro.
Business Bay
AED 25,942/m²DLDAll flats, registered sales
Flats along the Dubai Canal beside Downtown: prices paid per square metre for ready and off-plan units, the Business Bay metro and water bus, minutes to DIFC.
Dubai Creek Harbour
AED 28,344/m²DLDAl Khairan First: all flats, registered sales
Emaar's towers on Dubai Creek, mostly bought off-plan: prices paid per square metre, a Blue Line metro station due in 2029, and a wildlife sanctuary next door.
Downtown Dubai
AED 28,854/m²DLDBurj Khalifa: all flats, registered sales
Flats around Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall: prices paid per square metre for ready and off-plan units, the metro, Dubai Opera, minutes to DIFC and the beach.
Dubai Marina
AED 19,987/m²DLDAll flats, registered sales
A finished waterfront district bought mostly as resale: prices paid per square metre, metro, tram and water transport all stopping here, the beach minutes away.
Dubai Science Park
AED 18,588/m²DLDAll flats, registered sales
Flats in new towers inside a business park of labs and offices, between Al Barsha and Dubai Hills Estate: prices paid per square metre, mostly off-plan.
New projects
Developments buyers are putting money into
Master-planned communities and single projects by one developer, in the order of sales registered with the Land Department this year.
Azizi Venice
AED 18,333/m²DLDMadinat Al Mataar: all flats, registered sales
Azizi's lagoon community next to Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai South: freehold flats and mansions with starting prices, a running track, and no handover date yet.
DAMAC Lagoons
AED 19,749/m²DLDAl Hebiah Fifth: all flats, registered sales
DAMAC's villas and townhouses in Dubailand, partly handed over and lived in: clusters from Mykonos to Santorini, prices paid per square metre, drive times.
Sobha Hartland
AED 32,238/m²DLDSkyvue towers, registered sales
Sobha's gated towers and villas in Mohammed Bin Rashid City: a price, floor area and handover month for every tower, minutes to Downtown, no payment plan yet.
Palm Jebel Ali
AED 37,687/m²DLDPalm Jabal Ali: all flats, registered sales
Nakheel's new palm island, twice the size of Palm Jumeirah: Beach and Coral Collection villas, the approved master plan, and how far construction has got.
The Valley
AED 20,182/m²DLDAl Yufrah 1: all flats, registered sales
Emaar's villas and townhouses on the Dubai–Al Ain road: a man-made beach, a town centre and a sports village, prices paid per square metre, far from the metro.
Marsa Al Saadiyat
6.4M m²Media OfficeDistrict
Aldar's new waterfront district on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi: a marina, beaches and a cycle loop, freehold for foreign buyers, beside the island's museums.
DAMAC Islands
AED 19,611/m²DLDBahamas 2 cluster, registered sales
DAMAC's island-cluster villas and townhouses in Dubailand, launched in 2024: a starting price and a payment plan from the developer, handover not yet dated.
Emaar Beachfront
AED 47,966/m²DLDMarsa Dubai district, registered sales
Emaar's gated beachfront towers between Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina: a private shoreline, prices per unit and per square metre, handover not yet dated.
Prices
Price per square metre, by area
Median of the flat sales registered with the Land Department this year, in the areas with the most sales.
Guides
Fees, escrow, visas and mortgages, explained
Start with the rules of buying, then choose the area, then the project.
Buying property in Dubai from abroad
Buying in Dubai without living in the UAE: freehold on a passport, a foreign power of attorney and its attestation, and how much a UAE bank may lend you.
Buying property in Abu Dhabi
Buying in Abu Dhabi as a foreigner: freehold in the investment zones, the registration fee and who pays it, no income or capital-gains tax, and off-plan escrow.
The cost of buying property in Dubai
What buying in Dubai costs on top of the price: the Land Department fee and how buyer and seller split it, the trustee and title-deed fees, and mortgage fees.
The DLD calculator: what a Dubai purchase costs
Enter a price and how you pay, ready or off-plan, cash or mortgage: the Dubai Land Department fee, trustee, title deed and mortgage costs, added up for you.
The golden visa through property in Dubai
The Dubai golden visa through property: the value that qualifies, what the application costs, whether off-plan and mortgaged homes count, and how long it lasts.
Payment plans for off-plan property in Dubai
How off-plan payment plans work in Dubai: instalments paid into escrow, the Oqood fee, what a bank will lend, and what you lose or get back if payments stop.
Oqood, escrow and how to check a Dubai project
Check a Dubai off-plan project before you pay: what Oqood registration is, the escrow account your money goes into, and the public search that shows both.
Service charges in Dubai
How Dubai service charges are set: your share of an audited budget by registered area, what RERA must approve first, and where to look up a building's rate.
A question not covered here
Name the question or the project. We check what is registered and what is published, and send you the answer with its date.
Developers
Who builds it
The developers behind the areas above, and what each one publishes about its projects.
Aldar Properties
Aldar, the listed Abu Dhabi developer with audited accounts: master developer of Saadiyat, Yas, Al Raha and Reem, and what that means when you buy one home.
Azizi Developments
Azizi Developments before you sign: private, with no published accounts, handovers from Al Furjan to Palm Jumeirah, and no handover date yet at Azizi Venice.
Binghatti
Binghatti before you sign: private shares but listed sukuk and a Moody's rating, every project under one legal entity, and the towers finished in 2026.
DAMAC Properties
DAMAC before you sign: private since 2022 with no audited accounts, the project company that holds your contract and escrow, and its own handover figures.
Emaar Properties
Emaar before you sign: listed in Dubai, Dubai Holding its largest shareholder since 2026, master developer at some addresses and a plot developer at others.
Nakheel
Nakheel, part of Dubai Holding since 2024: master developer of Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali and Dubai Islands, with handovers under way at Jebel Ali Village.
Sobha Realty
Sobha Realty before you sign: a private Dubai company, separate from the listed Sobha Limited in India, and its projects from Sobha Hartland to Sobha One.
How we work
What the portals leave out
Who pays the registration fee, where a foreigner may own, and which project figures are not yet published.
Portals show what is for sale. They do not tell you how the registration fee is split, in which zones a foreign buyer may actually own, or which figures about a project have not been published.
Where no official document states a figure, you are told so plainly instead of being given a guess, and on request we send the current position from the department itself.
About the numbers
- DateEvery price has a date and a source
Every figure carries its currency, the day it was taken and its source; a converted amount shows the rate and the rate's date beside it.
- RangesNo range made by multiplying
An area times an average rate gives a number no document states, and usually one that is too high.
- DisagreementWhen official sources disagree, we say so
Neither figure is picked: the page records the disagreement, and on request we send the department's current position.
Questions
Ask about a project or an area
Name the project you are weighing up; we reply with its published payment plan, where the handover stands and the full cost of the first year.