Apartments for Sale in Dubai: Prices by Area 2026

Apartments are the volume product in Dubai and the one where the price spread is widest. The same two-bedroom footprint can cost AED 950,000 in Dubai Silicon Oasis or AED 4.2 million in Downtown, and the yield relationship runs in the opposite direction to the price. This page sets out what each price band buys and what it earns.

What does a Dubai apartment cost by community?

Dubai apartment prices run from AED 850 per square foot in Discovery Gardens to AED 5,000 on Palm Jumeirah, and price per square foot is the only comparison that survives a move between communities. A 1,000 square foot two-bedroom in JVC and a 700 square foot equivalent in Downtown are not comparable on headline price.

Bands are working ranges for planning rather than quotations. Individual units move outside them on floor, view, finish and service charge history.

Which apartments produce the best net yield?

Gross yield is the number in listings and net yield is the number that reaches the owner. The gap is not a rounding error, it is 2 to 3 percentage points, and most of it is one line: the service charge.

The operative point is that the charge scales with amenity load rather than with rent. A tower with a full leisure deck, valet parking and a concierge carries a charge that a walk-up in the same community does not, and the rent premium rarely covers the difference. The method for reading a service charge budget before purchase is in service charges by area, and the wider yield mechanics including vacancy and management assumptions are in the Dubai rental yield guide.

What does the purchase cost on top of the price?

On a cash resale, closing costs run 6% to 7% above the price. A one-bedroom at AED 1.1 million carries roughly AED 72,000: a 4% transfer fee of AED 44,000, commission of AED 22,000 plus AED 1,100 VAT, a trustee fee near AED 4,200 and a developer no-objection certificate.

With a mortgage, add 0.25% mortgage registration, about 1% bank arrangement and a valuation of AED 2,500 to 3,500, which takes the all-in figure closer to 8% of the purchase price.

Two costs surprise buyers who model only the transfer fee. The first is the no-objection certificate, which the developer issues on resale at AED 500 to 5,000 and which the seller conventionally pays and conventionally passes on. The second is the DEWA connection and deposit between tenancies, AED 2,000 to 4,000, charged to the landlord rather than the tenant. The full itemisation with mortgage worked examples is in the cost of buying property in Dubai.

Studio, one-bedroom or two-bedroom?

The unit mix decision is a yield decision rather than a lifestyle one, unless the buyer intends to occupy. Studios produce the highest gross yield per dirham and the highest turnover, one-bedrooms sit in the liquidity band of AED 750,000 to 1.4 million, and two-bedrooms trade half a point of yield for tenant stability.

The right answer depends on whether the owner is optimising for income per dirham invested or for the number of months the unit is occupied across a five-year hold. Those two objectives point at different products.

Studios produce the highest gross yield per dirham invested and the highest tenant turnover. In JVC and Discovery Gardens they let quickly and re-let quickly, which is an advantage on yield and a cost on management time and re-letting fees. They also have the narrowest resale buyer pool, because owner-occupiers rarely buy studios.

One-bedrooms are the liquidity sweet spot. They let to the largest tenant segment in Dubai, resell to both investors and end-users, and carry the smallest gap between gross and net yield because the service charge per square foot is spread across a slightly larger area with the same fixed-cost amenities.

Two-bedrooms trade yield for tenant stability. Families sign longer leases and move less, which cuts vacancy and re-letting cost, but the rent per square foot is lower than on a studio in the same building. In prime areas the two-bedroom is the volume resale product and therefore the most liquid.

For a buyer under AED 1 million, the practical shortlist is a studio or a one-bedroom in the yield belt, and the community choice matters more than the unit type. That comparison is worked in a first Dubai investment under AED 1M, and the community-level view across the whole city is in best areas to buy property in Dubai.

What should a buyer check before signing?

Our pre-offer checklist runs to four items, in this order, and none of them is the price. The service charge history across two years of approved budgets is first, because a building that raised the charge 18% in two years will raise it again and the trajectory is capitalised into resale value.

The remaining three are quick:

• Whether the owners association permits short-let, if that is part of the model
• The title record in the Dubai Land Department REST app, which takes minutes and shows any registered mortgage
• The broker registration number, which every practising broker in Dubai holds and which is verifiable on demand

Check the service charge history, not the current rate. A building that raised the charge 18% in two years will raise it again, and that trajectory is visible in the approved budgets.

Check whether the tower is on the short-let permitted list if short-let income is part of the model. Not every building allows it, and the owners association can withdraw permission.

Check the title in the Dubai Land Department REST app rather than relying on a listing. It shows the registered owner, whether a mortgage is registered against the unit and whether the title is clear, and the process takes minutes. It is described in property due diligence with the REST app.

Check the broker registration number. Every practising broker in Dubai holds one and it is verifiable on demand, as set out in RERA broker verification.

Short-let or long-let on a Dubai apartment?

Short-let raises gross revenue and raises cost by more than most models allow, so the comparison has to run net to net. A one-bedroom in Dubai Marina letting at AED 95,000 long-term can gross AED 140,000 to 160,000 short-let, and the costs against that figure are substantial.

• Operator share of 15% to 20% of gross
• Furnishing at AED 45,000 to 70,000 on a three to four year replacement cycle
• Utilities and internet move from the tenant to the owner
• Occupancy swings from about 85% between October and April to 45% in July and August

A one-bedroom in Dubai Marina that lets long-term at AED 95,000 a year can gross AED 140,000 to 160,000 on a well-run short-let operation. Against that, the operator takes 15% to 20% of gross, the unit needs furnishing at AED 45,000 to 70,000 and replacement on a three to four year cycle, utilities and internet move from the tenant to the owner, and the Department of Economy and Tourism holiday home permit carries an annual fee per unit. Occupancy is seasonal: the same unit that runs at 85% from October to April can sit at 45% to 55% in July and August.

Netted out, the short-let premium on a mid-market Dubai apartment is usually 1 to 2 percentage points of yield rather than the 4 to 5 points the gross figures imply. It is a real premium and it is worth having, but it is earned by operating a small hospitality business rather than by owning an asset. Buildings that permit short-let also tend to carry higher service charges, because the amenity load that makes them attractive to short-stay guests is the load the owners association is paying for.

The decision rule that holds up: a buyer who will not be in the country and does not want an operator relationship should model long-let and treat any short-let upside as optional. A buyer who wants the unit available for personal use several weeks a year should model short-let, because long-let makes personal use impossible.

Off-plan or ready apartment?

An off-plan apartment is cheaper at entry and more expensive in certainty. The payment plan spreads the outlay across construction, Oqood registration at 4% replaces the transfer fee at booking, and launch pricing typically sits 5% to 15% below comparable completed stock in the same community.

Nothing is earned during the plan period, so the whole construction window is an outflow against an estimated handover date. Our underwriting prices that window at the buyer’s own cost of capital rather than treating the launch discount as a gain.

A ready apartment costs more at entry and answers more questions. The service charge is a documented number rather than a developer projection. The rent is verifiable against Ejari records rather than a rental guarantee in a brochure. The building’s actual finish quality, lift performance and parking allocation are inspectable. On a yield-first purchase these are the variables that decide the return, and none of them can be inspected before handover on an off-plan unit.

The case for off-plan strengthens where the buyer has a long horizon, no income requirement during construction and a preference for staged payments over a single large outlay. It weakens sharply where leverage is involved, because a delayed handover extends the period of paying finance costs against no rent. The compensation route where a developer misses its committed date is narrower than most buyers assume and is set out in developer delay compensation. The wider off-plan framework, including escrow, Oqood and developer checks, is on the Dubai off-plan hub.

How much does building age change the maths?

Building age changes the arithmetic more than the community does, once a buyer is inside a price band. A tower handed over in the last three years carries a premium of 10% to 20% over comparable older stock and a service charge that has not yet found its real level. A tower over nine years old trades 10% to 25% below it.

A tower handed over in the last three years carries a developer warranty on structure and systems, a service charge set from a fresh budget, and finishes that will not need replacing for a decade. It also carries an untested owners association and a charge that has not yet found its real level, which in practice means it usually rises after year two once the first full maintenance cycle has been costed.

A tower eight to twelve years old carries the opposite profile. The charge is documented across several years, the association’s competence is visible in the condition of the common areas, and the price sits below new stock. Against that, chillers, lifts and pumps approach the end of their first replacement cycle, and a reserve fund that has not been funded properly turns that into a special levy on owners rather than a routine expense.

The single most useful document in an apartment purchase is therefore not the floor plan. It is the association’s reserve fund position. A building with a funded reserve and a stable charge is a different asset from a building with the same charge and no reserve, and only one of them has a levy coming.

What is on the tower checklist?

Our tower checklist runs to six items, and none of them appears in a listing. The cooling arrangement decides a recurring cost of AED 4,000 to 8,000 a year on a two-bedroom that sits outside the service charge entirely, and the remaining five decide letting speed, resale discount and the risk of a special levy.

• Cooling arrangement and whether a capacity charge is billed separately
• Parking allocation, which is binary in older towers
• Lift count against unit count
• The association’s arrears rate, which predicts maintenance spend
• Short-let permission, set by the association rather than the permit
• Chiller, lift and pump ages against the reserve fund balance

The cooling arrangement decides a recurring cost that is invisible in the service charge. District cooling billed on a separate meter carries a fixed capacity charge payable whether the unit is occupied or not, which on a two-bedroom can be AED 4,000 to 8,000 a year before a single unit of cooling is consumed. A building on a central chiller included in the service charge behaves differently and prices differently.

The parking allocation is binary in older towers and tiered in newer ones. A one-bedroom with no allocated bay lets and resells at a discount that is larger than the cost of renting a bay, because the discount is applied by every future buyer.

Lift count against unit count decides how the building feels at 8am. Two lifts serving forty floors is a daily irritation that shows up in tenant retention rather than in any document.

The association’s arrears rate is the health indicator that predicts everything else. Where a material share of owners are behind on charges, the maintenance budget is not being spent and the reserve is not being built.

The short-let position, if that is part of the plan, is set by the association and not by the permit.

Chiller, lift and pump ages are the capital items. Ask when each was last replaced and what the reserve holds against the next replacement.

How does financing an apartment work?

The central bank sets the ceiling and the bank sets the price. A UAE national can borrow up to 80% of value on a first property under AED 5 million, an expatriate resident up to 75%, and a non-resident typically 50% to 65% at pricing above resident rates and with a longer approval process.

A UAE national can borrow up to 80% of value on a first property under AED 5 million, an expatriate resident up to 75%, with both stepping down above that value and for second and subsequent properties. A non-resident borrows on narrower terms, typically 50% to 65%, at pricing above resident rates, and with a longer approval process. Those limits are set out in UAE central bank mortgage rules.

Three points decide whether a mortgage helps or hurts on an apartment purchase.

The valuation is the risk. The bank lends against its own valuer’s figure, not against the agreed price, and where the valuation lands low the buyer funds the difference in cash on top of the deposit. On a mid-market apartment the gap is usually manageable; the same percentage shortfall on a prime unit is not.

The fee stack adds roughly 1.25% to the transaction: 0.25% mortgage registration to the Land Department and about 1% bank arrangement, plus a valuation fee of AED 2,500 to 3,500.

And leverage interacts with the Golden Visa. The qualifying threshold is measured against registered value with the bank position taken into account, so a mortgaged purchase at the AED 2 million line is not automatically a qualifying one. Current pricing and the lender list are in Dubai mortgage rates and the UAE mortgage bank list.

What does the tenancy framework mean for an apartment landlord?

Every Dubai tenancy registers through Ejari, and registration is what makes the contract enforceable and the rent verifiable. Increases at renewal are capped by the RERA rental index under Decree No. 43 of 2013, banded from no increase permitted up to a maximum of 25%, with 90 days notice required.

Rent increases at renewal are capped by the RERA rental index under Decree No. 43 of 2013, banded against how far the current rent sits below the area average: no increase where the rent is within 10% of the average, rising through 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% bands to a maximum of 25% where the rent is more than half the average below it. Ninety days notice of the proposed new rent is required before renewal, and mid-contract increases are void.

The practical consequence for an apartment buyer is that a tenanted unit is not a neutral fact. A unit let well below the index average carries a lawful path to an uplift at the next renewal. A unit already at market carries none. Two identical apartments in the same tower can therefore have quite different forward yield profiles, and the listing shows neither. The calculation method is in the RERA rent increase calculator.

Eviction is possible on defined grounds with twelve months notice served through a notary or registered mail, which matters most to buyers intending to occupy. A vacant possession promise that the existing tenancy does not support is the most common reason a Dubai purchase collapses late.

What does fit-out actually cost?

Furnishing is a strategy decision rather than a finishing touch, and the numbers are large enough to change a yield calculation. A one-bedroom furnished to a lettable standard runs AED 45,000 to 70,000 and a two-bedroom AED 65,000 to 100,000, replaced on a three to four year cycle in short-let and five to seven in a furnished long let.

A one-bedroom furnished to a standard that lets well runs AED 45,000 to 70,000, and the furniture needs replacing on a three to four year cycle in a short-let operation and a five to seven year cycle in a furnished long let. A two-bedroom runs AED 65,000 to 100,000.

A furnished long let commands a premium of roughly 10% to 15% over an unfurnished one in the mid-market, which on a AED 90,000 rent is AED 9,000 to 13,500 a year. Against a AED 55,000 fit-out amortised over five years, that is close to break-even before accounting for the tenant segment it opens up. The case for furnishing is therefore usually about lettability and tenant type rather than about the premium.

Short-let is different: furnishing is mandatory rather than optional, and the standard required is higher. That cost belongs in the short-let comparison rather than being netted out of it.

What sells quickly and what does not?

Liquidity within the Dubai apartment market is not uniform, and the pattern is stable enough to plan around. One-bedrooms between AED 750,000 and 1.4 million in established communities are the most liquid product in the city, while a sale above AED 30 million can take 12 to 18 months at a target price.

One-bedrooms in the AED 750,000 to 1.4 million band in established communities are the most liquid product in Dubai. They serve investors and end-users, mortgage easily and have constant comparables.

Studios sell to investors only, which halves the buyer pool. They are quick to let and slower to sell than their yield suggests.

Two-bedrooms are liquid in family-suitable buildings and slower in towers with no amenity for children.

Above roughly AED 5 million the buyer pool thins, and above AED 30 million a sale can take twelve to eighteen months at a target price. That is normal behaviour for a thin trophy market rather than a defect, and it belongs in the model before purchase.

Tenanted units sell more slowly to owner-occupiers and at a small discount, because the tenancy runs with the property. Vacant units in a strong letting season carry a premium.

How do the yield-belt communities differ from each other?

Yield-belt communities look interchangeable in a price table and they are not, because each depends on a different tenant source. That dependency is what decides whether a 7% to 9% gross yield holds across a full cycle or only in a single year, and it is the variable a price per square foot figure cannot show.

Jumeirah Village Circle has the deepest and most diverse supply in the belt, which is why it is the most liquid and also the most exposed to new handovers competing for the same tenant. Its advantage is that a vacant unit re-lets quickly; its disadvantage is that the rent is set by a large and continuously refreshed comparable set.

Dubai Silicon Oasis draws from the technology and academic employers inside the district, which produces steadier tenancies and a slower rent response in both directions. It suits a landlord who values predictability over upside.

Discovery Gardens is the oldest of the belt and prices accordingly. Its stock is large, plain and well understood, its charges are the lowest in the city, and its buyer pool at resale is almost entirely investors.

Dubai Sports City and Dubai South both depend on a single anchor: the sporting and academy cluster in one case, the airport and logistics corridor in the other. Single-anchor demand is strong while the anchor is growing and thin when it is not, and it is the reason both carry a slightly wider yield band than JVC at similar prices.

The practical instruction is to pick the tenant source before picking the community, because that is the variable that determines whether the yield holds across a full cycle rather than in a single year.

A worked apartment purchase, from offer to first rent

This worked example takes a one-bedroom in Jumeirah Village Circle at AED 850,000, 720 square feet, in a mid-range tower with a service charge of AED 14 per square foot, bought for cash and let long-term. The purpose is to show how far the net figure sits below the 8.2% gross a listing would quote.

Acquisition. The transfer fee is 4%, AED 34,000. Agency commission at 2% plus VAT is AED 17,850. The trustee fee is about AED 4,200 and the developer no-objection certificate around AED 2,000. Total closing costs are roughly AED 58,050, an effective premium of 6.8%, taking the all-in figure to AED 908,050.

Income. A one-bedroom of that size and specification in JVC lets in the AED 70,000 range, which is 8.2% gross on the purchase price and 7.7% on the all-in figure.

Deductions. The service charge is AED 10,080. Property management at 6% of rent is AED 4,200. A vacancy allowance at 6% is AED 4,200. A maintenance provision at 0.5% of value is AED 4,250. Ejari registration and the DEWA reconnection between tenancies add roughly AED 1,200 in an average year. Total deductions are AED 23,930.

Net rent is therefore about AED 46,070, which is 5.4% on the purchase price and 5.1% on the all-in figure. That is the number to compare with alternatives, and it sits 2.8 percentage points below the gross figure a listing would show.

Two variables move it materially. A tower with a AED 20 charge instead of AED 14 costs a further AED 4,320 a year, taking the net yield to 4.9%. And a tenant who stays three years instead of turning over annually removes two vacant periods and two re-letting commissions across that span, which is worth more than the charge difference.

The break-even point on the entry cost, ignoring any capital growth, is roughly sixteen months of net rent. That is the honest answer to how long the money has to stay in before the transaction stops being a loss, and it is the calculation that decides whether a short holding period makes sense at all.

An insider tip on comparing two towers

Insider tip: when two apartments in the same community show the same asking price, compare them on the service charge per square foot and the parking allocation before comparing them on anything else. On a 720 square foot one-bedroom, the difference between a charge of AED 12 and one of AED 20 is AED 5,760 a year, which on a rent of AED 70,000 moves the net yield by roughly 0.7 percentage points and compounds across the whole holding period. A missing parking bay costs a further discount at both letting and resale, and that discount is applied by every future buyer rather than only by the first one. Both figures are available before an offer, neither appears in a listing, and together they explain most of the spread between units that look identical on a portal.

What are the common mistakes?

Six mistakes account for most of the disappointment we see in first Dubai purchases, and the first is buying on gross yield. The listing figure sits before the service charge, management, vacancy and maintenance, and the gap runs 2 to 3 percentage points, so a 9% gross unit on a AED 24 charge can net less than a 7% one.

Modelling appreciation instead of income. Transaction costs of 6% to 7% on entry and roughly 2% on exit mean a purchase needs several years of yield or growth to break even, and the entry cost is certain while the growth is not.

Ignoring the reserve fund. A building with no reserve and ageing plant has a levy in its future, and the levy lands on whoever owns the unit when the work is scheduled.

Treating a rental guarantee as income. A guarantee is a developer promise for a defined period, usually priced into the purchase price, and it ends. Model the post-guarantee rent.

Assuming short-let permission. It is set by the owners association, it can be withdrawn, and it should be confirmed before the offer rather than after completion.

Skipping the title check. The Dubai REST app shows the registered owner, whether a mortgage is registered against the unit and whether the title is clear, and it takes minutes. The method is in property due diligence with the REST app.

What decides the tenant, and therefore the yield

Tenant source rather than postcode is what holds a yield across a full cycle, and it is the variable a price table cannot show. Jumeirah Village Circle draws from the broadest tenant pool in Dubai, which makes a vacant unit quick to re-let and the achievable rent set by a large and constantly refreshed comparable set. Dubai Silicon Oasis draws from technology and academic employers inside the district, producing steadier tenancies and slower rent movement in both directions. Dubai Sports City and Dubai South each depend on a single anchor, which is strong while the anchor grows and thin when it does not, and that dependency is the reason both carry a wider yield band of roughly 1.4 percentage points at similar prices per square foot. Pick the tenant source first and the community follows from it.

Where does an apartment buyer go next?

Where the objective is income, start from the yield table, shortlist two communities and compare towers on the AED 12 to 25 service charge rather than on price. Where the objective is residency, AED 2 million of registered value is the constraint and the shortlist narrows to mid-tier space or prime compactness.

The city-wide framing, including how apartments compare with villas and townhouses on total return, sits on the Dubai property hub and in the Dubai property investment guide.