How to sell a property in Dubai in The Highbury – analysis 2025

How to sell a property in The Highbury – in this article we analyse real transaction data, prices, rental yields and liquidity for owners and investors.

For clarity, we may refer to the same unit as an apartment, a property, or a home depending on context.

Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment

Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment if you plan to hold it for long-term rental? Based on the analysed dataset for this building in Sobha Hartland, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, we can estimate realistic purchase prices, expected gross yield, price-to-rent range and key vacancy risks – even though there are not yet registered rental contracts in our sample for this specific tower or for the parent community.

In our sample of 30 sales transactions for 1-bedroom units in The Highbury, the median purchase price stands around AED 1.72M, while current asking prices from 39 active listings cluster closer to AED 1.95M–2.0M. This spread, along with the fact that 100% of units in the dataset are off-plan, is crucial for any investor evaluating whether a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai is a good investment for long-term leasing and potential capital appreciation.

What you must know about the Dubai market before selling

The Highbury sits in Mohammed Bin Rashid City, a master community that targets mid- to upper-tier tenants: young professionals, couples and small families working in Downtown, Business Bay and DIFC but preferring newer stock with strong amenities. This positioning matters because long-term performance for a 1-bedroom unit will depend heavily on how this tenant segment grows and what competing supply comes online.

In the analysed dataset, all 1-bedroom transactions in The Highbury are off-plan. That tells us two things:

Price discovery is developer- and broker-driven, not yet shaped by a deep resale and rental market.
Current investors are mostly buying on future expectations: completion quality, facilities, and MBR City’s long-term infrastructure story.

At a median sold price per square foot of about AED 2,051 in our transaction sample and median asking levels around AED 2,291 per sq ft, The Highbury is pricing itself as a premium product within MBR City. This is acceptable for an investor only if rents after handover can justify these entry levels, or if you are targeting a capital-gain-led strategy rather than a pure yield play.

Before you think about selling in the future, or entering now as a buyer, you should also keep two structural points in mind:

Dubai’s rental market is cyclical and can soften if new supply in nearby communities (say, Meydan, Business Bay, or other MBR City projects) is delivered faster than demand.
Off-plan stock tends to show more volatile pricing than mature, fully-leased buildings, especially around handover and in the first 12–24 months of operation.

All of this provides the macro frame for answering the core question: Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment under today’s pricing and likely rental assumptions?

Deal history for the building: price and demand dynamics

Our dataset covers 30 sales transactions for 1-bedroom apartments in The Highbury between late April 2024 and late December 2025 (a 609‑day window). All of these records are off-plan sales.

Key pricing benchmarks from this sample:

Overall median price: about AED 1,715,914 for a 1-bedroom.
Overall median price per sq ft: around AED 2,050–2,052.
Last 12 months’ median price: about AED 1,705,000 for 1-bed units.
Last 12 months’ median price per sq ft: roughly AED 2,052 per sq ft.

The stability of the median price per sq ft (almost identical overall vs. last 12 months) suggests that within this specific off-plan project, the developer and brokers have kept a fairly narrow pricing corridor for 1-bedroom units. However, individual transactions in the sample show meaningful variation:

Lower-end 1-bedroom deals in the sample were around AED 1.5M at approximately AED 1,700 per sq ft.
Higher-end transactions reached above AED 2.1M at more than AED 2,300 per sq ft, often for larger or better-positioned layouts (for example, around 919 sq ft).

In the last 12 months, our dataset shows an average of about 1.5 deals per month for 1-bedroom apartments in The Highbury. This indicates a moderate absorption pace: not a “hot” flipper market, but steady enough that an investor can expect eventual liquidity, as long as pricing is realistic and the wider market remains supportive.

For an investor, the key inference is that entry price has a wide but well-defined band. If you can secure a unit closer to the original transaction median (around AED 1.7M) instead of today’s asking levels, your long-term yield and downside protection look far more attractive.

Official data sources and live market tools

For readers who want to explore the raw data behind this analysis, here are the key open sources:

Recent sales in this building

Transaction Date	Price	Property Size	Price Psf	Status
2025-12-30	2130000	919	2318	Off-plan
2025-12-26	1743828	881	1979	Off-plan
2025-12-09	1611828	775	2079	Off-plan
2025-12-09	1716828	775	2214	Off-plan
2025-11-29	1500000	880	1704	Off-plan
2025-11-24	1610000	881	1827	Off-plan
2025-11-14	1715000	861	1993	Off-plan
2025-11-12	2050828	919	2232	Off-plan
2025-11-07	1695000	775	2186	Off-plan
2025-10-24	1902828	919	2071	Off-plan

Current listings and liquidity: what apartments are really asking now

Our sample of active listings shows 39 1-bedroom apartments for sale in The Highbury, all currently advertised as off-plan units. This is a sizeable on-market sample, and it allows us to see where sellers and agents are trying to position the product today.

Key metrics from the listing dataset:

Median asking price: approximately AED 1,950,000.
Median asking price per sq ft: around AED 2,291.
Median unit size: about 861 sq ft for a 1-bedroom.

Comparing this to the sales dataset for 1-bedroom units:

Median sold: ~AED 1.72M vs. median asking: ~AED 1.95M.
Median sold psf: ~AED 2,051 vs. median asking psf: ~AED 2,291.

This implies that, in our sample, seller expectations are roughly 12% higher per sq ft than past transaction medians. The pre-computed overheat indicator confirms this: the ratio of asking vs. sold price per sq ft is 1.12 in the analysed dataset. In other words, The Highbury currently looks “optimistically priced” compared with its own recent sales history.

On the liquidity side, the estimated months of inventory stands at about 26 months when we compare the sample of current listings to the last 12 months’ deal pace (around 1.5 deals per month). For an investor, this means:

As a buyer, you have negotiation leverage – the building is not in a frenzied seller’s market.
As a future seller, you should not assume you can exit overnight; realistic pricing and a 3–6 month sale window would be prudent in your base case.

If you manage to purchase below today’s asking median – closer to that AED 1.7M–1.8M range evident in transactional data – you structurally improve both your future selling flexibility and your rental yield profile.

Current sale listings in this building

Listed Date	Price Value	Size Sqft	Price Psf	Status
2026-01-10	1997500	861	2320	off_plan
2025-12-22	1950000	775	2516	off_plan
2025-12-21	1800000	881	2043	off_plan
2025-12-19	1760000	848	2075	off_plan
2025-12-17	1950000	775	2516	off_plan
2025-12-17	1995000	881	2264	off_plan
2025-12-16	1950000	861	2265	off_plan
2025-12-15	2300000	880	2614	off_plan
2025-12-08	2070000	880	2352	off_plan
2025-12-04	1750000	880	1989	off_plan

Rent and yields: detailed view for investors

Our dataset currently shows no registered rental transactions for 1-bedroom units in The Highbury, and also no rental records at the parent-community level in Mohammed Bin Rashid City within this data slice. That means we cannot quote building-specific historical rents or derive a purely empirical price-to-rent ratio from this dataset alone.

However, we can still outline a disciplined framework for estimating gross yield and price-to-rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury, using the project’s own pricing as the anchor and applying conservative market assumptions.

Step 1: Define realistic purchase price ranges

Based on our data sample, three logical entry points emerge for a 1-bedroom investor:

Conservative entry (close to older off-plan deals): around AED 1.7M.
Mid-range entry (near current transacted median): around AED 1.72M–1.8M.
Optimistic entry (near current asking median): around AED 1.95M–2.0M.

Step 2: Set rental benchmarks (scenario-based)

Since our dataset has no direct rent records, an investor should work with scenarios. For a premium 1-bedroom around 850–900 sq ft in a project like The Highbury in MBR City, a cautious rental assumption might span a broad range. Instead of giving an arbitrary market figure, we can reverse-engineer yields:

Scenario A: target gross yield of 5%.
Scenario B: target gross yield of 6%.
Scenario C: target gross yield of 7%.

For each scenario, you can derive an implied annual rent using the formula:

Annual Rent = Purchase Price × Target Yield.

Step 3: Approximate gross yield and price-to-rent

Let us illustrate this with a mid-range entry price of AED 1.8M (within the median sold range from our sample):

At 5% gross yield, implied annual rent ≈ AED 90,000.
At 6% gross yield, implied annual rent ≈ AED 108,000.
At 7% gross yield, implied annual rent ≈ AED 126,000.

Price-to-rent ratio is simply Purchase Price divided by Annual Rent:

5% yield scenario: 1,800,000 / 90,000 ≈ 20 years price-to-rent.
6% yield scenario: 1,800,000 / 108,000 ≈ 16.7 years price-to-rent.
7% yield scenario: 1,800,000 / 126,000 ≈ 14.3 years price-to-rent.

Now, if you instead pay close to today’s median asking price of AED 1.95M from our listings sample, the same rent levels would translate into lower yields and a higher price-to-rent; for instance, if you still only achieve AED 108,000 in annual rent, your gross yield drops to about 5.5% and price-to-rent stretches to around 18 years.

Step 4: Vacancy and downtime risk

Because the building is new and the entire dataset is off-plan, early leasing cycles are crucial. Risks specific to The Highbury at this stage include:

Clustered handover: many similar units hitting the market at once can pressure rents and extend initial vacancy until the building stabilises.
Competition in MBR City: tenants may compare The Highbury with nearby projects on rent, fit-out and amenities, forcing landlords to adjust asking rents or offer incentives.
Lease-up period: assuming 1–3 months of initial vacancy after handover is prudent, plus a 5–8% structural downtime per year in later years to reflect tenant turnover.

When building your model, it is sensible to stress-test yields under higher vacancy (for example, assuming only 10.5 or 11 months of paid occupancy in year one) and slightly lower-than-expected headline rents. This is especially important near handover, before the property establishes a rental track record.

From a methodological standpoint, an investor asking “Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment for long-term rent?” should base the answer on whether realistic rent scenarios, after factoring vacancy and service charges, still produce an acceptable risk-adjusted yield compared with other Dubai submarkets.

Seller strategy: how to prepare and sell this type of apartment in Dubai

Even if your primary goal is long-term leasing, you should plan your exit strategy from day one. Our sample data on The Highbury shows a gap between what buyers historically paid (~AED 1.7M median) and what many current sellers are asking (~AED 1.95M median). As a future seller, you should be realistic about where your unit fits in this spectrum.

Core strategic points for owners planning to sell a 1-bedroom unit in The Highbury in the coming years:

Price from the data, not from wishful thinking. Track new transaction medians per sq ft in the tower and align your asking price within 5–10% of those, unless your unit has genuine differentiators (view, larger layout, better floor level).
Be aware of inventory pressure. With 39 listings in our sample and an estimated 26 months of inventory at current absorption rates, overpricing will simply convert into long selling times.
Use actual tenancy performance. Once the building matures and you have lease history, a clean file with timely renewals, low vacancy and stable rent increases is a powerful selling tool for investor-buyers.

In terms of presentation for an investor audience, focus on:

Clear cost structure: disclose service charges and actual net yield based on current rent.
Lease terms: showcase long leases with quality tenants rather than short-term, high-churn contracts.
Documentation: keep all SPA, payment schedules, snagging reports and any upgrades invoices organised and easily shareable.

If you are selling before handover or shortly after, your positioning will be closely linked to the developer’s remaining inventory and other resales. Working with a brokerage that has access to up-to-date transactional data in The Highbury is essential to avoid sitting in the overpriced segment for months.

Investor scenarios: risks, exit strategies and upside

From a pure investor’s lens, the central question remains: Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment compared with other options in the city?

Based on the analysed sample, three broad scenarios can be outlined for a long-term landlord strategy.

Scenario 1: Value entry, income-focused

You manage to secure a 1-bedroom around the historical median range of the dataset, roughly AED 1.7M–1.75M, perhaps from an early investor needing liquidity or via a negotiated pre-handover resale.

Pros: Lower capital outlay, better gross yield potential, more cushion if rents underperform initial expectations.
Risks: Limited choice of best layouts and views; you might compromise on micro-location within the building.
Exit: Selling around completion or 2–3 years post-handover if MBR City matures and rents prove resilient; upside mainly from both yield and moderate capital appreciation.

Scenario 2: Median entry, balanced strategy

You buy near the central band of current resale pricing – around AED 1.8M – accepting a moderate premium over original launch prices but below the current asking median of AED 1.95M in our listings sample.

Pros: Access to better layouts without fully paying top-of-market expectations.
Risks: Gross yields become more sensitive to rent levels; if the market settles closer to the lower end of your rent assumptions, your price-to-rent ratio could drift towards 18–19 years.
Exit: Flexible; you can hold for stable income or exit opportunistically if there is a short-term price spike driven by MBR City’s infrastructure delivery.

Scenario 3: High-entry, capital-gain bet

You pay close to or above the current median asking price from our listing sample (around AED 1.95M–2.0M), betting strongly on future capital appreciation and on The Highbury’s brand and amenities to command premium rents.

Pros: Best possible layouts, floors and views; good positioning if the tower becomes a flagship address in MBR City.
Risks: Squeezed yields unless rents are at the very high end of the local spectrum; higher vulnerability to any market softening or rent stagnation.
Exit: You may need a longer holding period to justify the high entry price, relying on the broader Dubai cycle to lift both rents and values over time.

Cross-cutting risks in all scenarios include:

Construction and handover risk typical of off-plan stock, although this is project-specific and should be assessed at the developer level.
Lease-up risk in the first year, when many similar 1-bedroom units will compete for tenants, potentially increasing vacancy or forcing rent concessions.
Liquidity risk, as highlighted by an estimated 26 months of inventory in our sample when measured against recent transaction volumes.

On the upside, if MBR City continues its trajectory as a high-demand residential hub and The Highbury delivers on its design and amenity promises, a well-priced 1-bedroom could combine respectable gross yields with defensible long-term capital values.

Summary and answers to common questions

Bringing the numbers together, our dataset suggests the following for a 1-bedroom investor in The Highbury:

Historical median entry levels for 1-bed units sit around AED 1.7M, while current listing medians are closer to AED 1.95M.
Per sq ft pricing has stepped up from a median of about AED 2,051 in sales to around AED 2,291 in current asks – roughly a 12% uplift in our sample.
Liquidity is moderate, with about 1.5 deals per month on average over the last 12 months in the dataset and an estimated 26 months of inventory at current listing volumes.
There is no direct rental track record for this specific building in the dataset yet, so yield calculations must be scenario-based rather than derived from actual contracts.

In this context, Is a 1-bedroom apartment in The Highbury Dubai a good investment? It can be, provided that:

You acquire closer to historical transacted levels than to the most optimistic asking prices.
You underwrite rents and vacancy conservatively, especially during the first 1–2 years after handover.
You are comfortable with an off-plan profile and with a medium-term holding horizon.

FAQ

Q: What gross yield should I target for a 1-bedroom in The Highbury?

A: Without building-specific rental data in the sample, a prudent investor would model several scenarios between 5% and 7% gross yield and check whether these are realistic when compared to alternative projects in MBR City and nearby areas.

Q: How risky is vacancy in The Highbury?

A: As a new off-plan project with many similar units, you should expect higher vacancy risk around handover and in the initial lease-up phase. Modelling 1–3 months of initial vacancy and a structural downtime of 5–8% per year thereafter is a reasonable starting point.

Q: Is it better to buy now off-plan or wait until after handover?

A: Buying now may secure a better price if current sellers accept discounts from the asking median of AED 1.95M observed in our listings dataset. Waiting until after handover gives you clearer visibility on actual rents and service charges, but prices could be higher or lower depending on market conditions at that time.

Q: Who is the ideal investor profile for this building?

A: A medium- to long-term investor comfortable with an off-plan cycle, who values building quality and location, and who is willing to buy based on conservative rent assumptions rather than aggressive yield targets. For such an investor, a carefully priced 1-bedroom in The Highbury can form a solid, income-producing part of a diversified Dubai portfolio.