Real estate investment intelligence | Dubai
Exploring where to invest, or weighing a specific property? We examine downside, income and price, and we present the findings to you.
The answer sits in three things a headline never shows: the income left after service charges and vacancy, what the supply pipeline does to it, and the price paid against what comparable units have traded at.
The market in the last twelve months, from official and market sources.
2025 transactions
AED 917bn
Up 20% on 2024, from over 270,000 transactions.
Dubai Media Office, Jan 2026
2025 real estate investment
AED 680bn
Across 258,600 deals, up 29% in value.
Dubai Media Office, Jan 2026
Population
4.81m
Up 226,885 since the start of 2026, about 5%.
Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment, Sep 2026
First half 2026 sales
AED 286bn
From 79,229 sales transactions, January to June.
Khaleej Times, Jul 2026
Average gross yield
6.5%
Apartments 6.8%, townhouses 5.1%, villas 4.5%.
Engel & Völkers, Aug 2026
Completed in H1 2026
~18,000
Residential units delivered across Dubai.
CBRE, Jul 2026
A broad, resident-led investor base.
Dubai, 2025
Up 24% on 2024, including 129,600 new investors. Residents made up 56.6% of all investors. On average, a renter became an investor after 4.8 years.
Dubai Media Office, Jan 2026
Pathway
Dubai’s population grew by around 332,000 during 2025. A growing resident base is the demand behind both rents and purchases.
Gulf News, Sep 2026
The reasons that recur in the evidence.
Demand
About 4.8 million residents, adding roughly 5% in nine months. Demand follows people.
Income
Average gross apartment yields of 6.8%, ranging from about 4.7% on Palm Jumeirah to about 9.6% in Dubai Investments Park.
Visa
Property of AED 2 million or more can qualify for a 10-year residency visa, including mortgaged and off-plan property, subject to conditions.
Structure
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, and the UAE does not levy personal income tax.
Gross rental yield on apartments, before service charges and vacancy.
Highest and lowest of the communities reported, with the Dubai average.
Engel & Völkers, August 2026. A high yield often reflects a lower price, older stock or higher service charges, so it is the start of the analysis, not the conclusion.
Record volumes do not mean a one-way market. The latest quarter is more measured.
CBRE, Jul 2026
Residential transactions fell 29% on the year, to under 37,000, and their value to AED 88bn from about AED 154bn.
CBRE, Jul 2026
Average residential rents fell 6.2% on the quarter and 2.6% on the year, while sale prices stayed 1.9% above a year earlier.
CBRE via Gulf News, Jul 2026
About 18,000 units were completed across Dubai in the first half, which has helped ease some of the pressure on prices.
Ownership and costs, in a few lines. Confirm each for the specific asset.
Ownership
Foreign investors can own freehold in designated areas, with title registered at the Dubai Land Department.
Costs
A transfer cost, commonly 4% of the price, plus registration costs, then service charges every year.
Visa
Property above a stated value, currently AED 2 million, can qualify for a long-term residency visa.
Peg
The dirham has long been pegged to the US dollar, which many investors weigh against currency risk.
What we examine depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Objective
Net yield after service charges, tenant demand and the supply that could pressure rents, community by community.
Objective
Price evidence, the completion pipeline and the location fundamentals that have moved values.
Objective
How Dubai compares with Abu Dhabi and with asset types you already hold.
Objective
Location, specification and price against comparable sales, assessed as carefully as an investment.
Six questions that decide the outcome. Each is examined from the evidence before capital moves.
Dubai launches are frequent and large. We compare the completion pipeline for the community with its absorption, so the risk of oversupply is visible before it reaches rents or resale prices.
Resale depth differs sharply between communities and unit types. We look at transaction volumes and how long comparable units take to sell, to show how deep the market is for the asset.
Prices and yields vary widely between communities and unit types. We set the asking price against comparable transactions and show gross and net yield after service charges.
Off-plan carries delivery, developer and timing considerations that a completed asset does not. We examine the developer’s record, the payment plan, the registration and escrow arrangements, and how comparable launches performed on completion.
Foreign ownership is available in designated freehold areas, with title registered at the Dubai Land Department. A transfer cost, commonly 4% of the price, applies, alongside registration and trustee costs, then service charges over the holding period.
Lending limits for non-residents and additional properties are lower than for a first home, which changes the equity required. The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, and income and gains are taxed by who holds the asset and how. Property above a stated value, currently AED 2 million, can qualify for a long-term UAE residency visa. Eligibility depends on the property, how it is held and the documents required, and should be confirmed with the relevant authority.
You do not need an asset to start.
No asset yet
Tell us your objective and horizon. We show where the evidence points: the areas and asset types that fit, with the prices, yields and risks behind them.
Asset in mind
Send the property, project or area. We examine the downside, the income, the market around it and the price, and write up what the evidence shows.
Step one
Income, growth, diversification or a home, and any asset you already have in mind. It takes two minutes.
Step two
A private conversation to agree the brief: your objective, your horizon and the question the decision turns on.
Step three
A written assessment, presented to you. The decision remains yours.
For an asset, four findings. For an exploration, a written view of where the evidence points.
Finding one
How the income and the value behave if conditions turn.
Finding two
Net yield after service charges and vacancy, with every assumption written beneath it.
Finding three
Supply, absorption and resale depth around the asset.
Finding four
The asking price set against what comparable assets have traded at.
Every assessment begins with the question the decision turns on. These come up most.
Income
We test lease expiry, tenant covenant and passing rent against market rent.
Price
We set the asking price against comparable transactions and what the asset earns.
Exit
We examine transaction volumes and how long comparable assets take to trade.
Have a different question? Write to us with yours.
Begin a Private ConversationA single Dubai figure hides more than it shows.
Central
Central, mixed-use districts where residential and commercial demand meet.
Waterfront
Established waterfront communities with a long transaction record.
Prime
Prime waterfront, with its own pricing and a more specialised pool of buyers.
Master-planned
A master-planned community of villas and apartments.
Large-scale
A large community where the supply pipeline matters most.
Industrial
Logistics and industrial zones, read on rents, vacancy and take-up.
Yes, in designated freehold areas, with title registered through the Dubai Land Department. Which areas qualify, and which documents are required, should be confirmed for the specific property.
Beyond the price, buyers commonly meet a Dubai Land Department transfer cost of 4% of the price, and registration and trustee costs. Service charges and maintenance follow. Current rates should be confirmed before any commitment.
That depends on the asset, the price paid and the holding period, not on the city alone. Communities differ widely in yield, supply and liquidity. We assess the specific asset on the evidence and show the downside as well as the income.
Supply varies by community and by year. The risk is seen by comparing the completion pipeline with absorption for the submarket in question. We assemble that evidence for the asset you are weighing.
Property above a stated value, currently AED 2 million, can qualify for a long-term UAE residency visa. Eligibility depends on the property, how it is held and the documents required, and should be confirmed with the relevant authority.
We provide the evidence on the asset and its market: price against comparable transactions, income, supply and downside. We present the findings.
Figures as published, checked October 2026. Market data moves, so confirm each at the time of a decision.
Tell us the asset and what you need to know.
Begin a Private ConversationPrivate enquiry
Two short steps, then we take it from there.