Anyone buying an apartment in Dubai has something buyers in most cities do not: the full market record, published openly. The Dubai Land Department registers every sale and every tenancy contract and releases the data. You can see what a flat in a specific building actually sold for, how the price per square metre has moved since 2010, and what tenants pay for the same unit.
That is a different thing from asking prices. A listing shows what the seller hopes for; the register shows what the two sides agreed on. The gap between the two is exactly the part of a negotiation that people normally have to guess at.
Below is what that data says: what apartments of each size cost, how price and rental yield differ by district, and which buildings people actually buy. Everything is calculated from transactions over the past twelve months and updates with the register.
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What an apartment in Dubai costs
More than 187,000 apartment transactions were registered in Dubai over the past twelve months. This is what changed hands and at what price.
| Apartment | Size | Price, AED | Per m² | Deals in a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 37 m² | 675 000 | 18 243 | 45 636 |
| 1 bedroom | 72 m² | 1 199 000 | 16 653 | 67 512 |
| 2 bedrooms | 117 m² | 2 000 000 | 17 094 | 40 820 |
| 3 bedrooms | 173 m² | 3 400 000 | 19 653 | 10 651 |
| 4 bedrooms | 317 m² | 8 000 000 | 25 237 | 1 307 |
| 5 bedrooms | 724 m² | 28 300 000 | 39 088 | 146 |
Median across 166 072 apartment transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department over the past 12 months.
A studio sits at 695,000 dirhams, roughly 189,000 dollars. A one-bedroom is 1.22 million, a two-bedroom 2.04 million. Above that, price grows faster than floor area: four-bedroom units run at 25,800 per square metre against 16,700 for a one-bedroom, because that segment is where high-floor and penthouse stock lands.
Why these are medians, not “from” prices
The median is the midpoint: half the apartments sold below it, half above. The arithmetic mean over the same transactions would sit noticeably higher, pulled up by a handful of sales in the tens of millions. And a “prices from” figure shows a floor that barely exists in practice.
So the median answers the real question — what does this actually cost. If you arrive in Dubai with one and a half million dirhams, you are looking at one-bedroom apartments, and the register says that is precisely what most buyers are purchasing.
Which buildings people buy most
Transaction count per building is a practical signal. It does not say a building is better than the rest — it says the market in it is alive: there is something to price against, and there will be someone to sell to later. In buildings with a handful of transactions there is nothing to price against, and exiting takes months.
| Project | Median price, AED | Deals in a year |
|---|---|---|
| Azizi Venice 14 | 650 000 | 2 061 |
| Binghatti Vintage | 709 999 | 1 527 |
| Valencia at Damac Lagoons | 790 000 | 1 367 |
| Maybach 6 | 1 396 000 | 1 121 |
| Azizi Venice 6 | 745 000 | 1 027 |
| Binghatti Skyflame | 580 000 | 916 |
| Binghatti Skyterraces | 890 999 | 901 |
| Breez by Danube | 1 750 000 | 838 |
| Azizi Venice 7 | 670 000 | 821 |
| Azizi Venice 15 | 709 070 | 821 |
Projects with the highest number of registered transactions over the past 12 months.
New build dominates this list, which follows from the same 64-to-36 split: most of the market’s turnover currently runs through developers.
Prices by district
The spread between districts is wider than the spread between unit sizes. A square metre in Business Bay costs twice what it does in Jumeirah Village Circle — and the rental yield there is lower, not higher.
| District | Price per m² | 1 bedroom, AED | Yield | Deals in a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South Residential District | 17 865 | 1 162 828 | 4.6% | 15 737 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 14 932 | 1 040 222 | 6.6% | 14 385 |
| Business Bay | 23 978 | 1 720 000 | 5.4% | 9 901 |
| Al Furjan | 15 271 | 1 121 000 | 5.5% | 8 419 |
| Majan | 15 618 | 1 099 999 | 5.0% | 8 220 |
| DubaiLand Residence Complex | 15 326 | 1 058 103 | 4.9% | 7 685 |
| Dubai Marina | 20 406 | 1 611 000 | 5.7% | 6 440 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 26 401 | 1 905 888 | 5.2% | 4 918 |
| Arjan | 15 772 | 1 075 000 | 5.9% | 4 902 |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | 18 305 | 1 650 000 | 6.1% | 4 793 |
| Dubai Islands | 29 853 | 2 338 828 | — | 4 668 |
| Downtown Dubai | 26 969 | 2 000 000 | 5.4% | 4 230 |
| Azizi Riviera | 20 627 | 1 264 000 | 6.8% | 4 167 |
| Motor City | 17 868 | 1 100 000 | 4.5% | 4 115 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 17 471 | 1 193 371 | 5.5% | 4 054 |
Districts sorted by transaction count over the past 12 months. Yield is gross: annual rent per m² against price per m². Service charges are not published in the register.
The pattern is immediate: the more expensive the metre, the lower the yield. Central districts are bought for the asset itself and for how easily it resells, not for rental income. Districts yielding above six percent are generally high-volume developments with plenty of supply and fast turnover.
The links in the table lead to district pages, where each one has price history back to 2010, rent dynamics and the buildings with the most transactions.
Match a district to your budget
If you would like us to line your budget up against these numbers and send back what fits, leave your contact details.
Off-plan or resale
Over the past twelve months 64% of apartment transactions were with developers and 36% on the resale market. The tilt towards new build is persistent, and it has practical consequences.
Buying from a developer. Payment is staged: typically part on booking, part during construction, the balance on handover. The money goes into the project’s escrow account rather than to the developer directly. The developer pays the agency commission, not the buyer. The trade-off is that you cannot view or occupy the apartment now, and handover dates sometimes move — construction progress is published by the Land Department itself, and we put that data online with the date of the latest inspection.
Buying resale. You can view the apartment, learn its real service charges and see how the building is run. You can move in or let it immediately. Here the buyer pays the agency commission of 2% of the price, and a developer’s no-objection certificate (NOC) is required.
There is one more difference that only shows up in the register: some buildings have almost no resale market at all — every transaction runs through the developer. That means there may be no one to sell to later, because a secondary market has not formed yet. We show the resale share for each building on its own page.
What the rent brings in
The median rent across Dubai is 831 dirhams per square metre per year, based on 730,000 Ejari contracts over the past twelve months. Against a median price of 18,065 per square metre, that puts the gross yield at about 4.6%.
By district it ranges from four to six and a half percent. The yield is gross: annual rent against purchase price, before costs. It cannot honestly be shown net — developers do not file service charges into the register, and they differ substantially from building to building. As a reference point, service charges in Dubai usually run between 10 and 25 dirhams per square foot per year, and the figure for a specific building should be checked before the deal.
Long-term and short-term letting are worth separating. The figures above are long-term contracts, which are registered with Ejari. Short-term letting produces a higher gross rate but requires a licence, a management company, and it comes with uneven occupancy.
What you pay on top of the price
One-off costs come to roughly 6–7% of the price on a resale purchase and 4–5% when buying from a developer.
- Land Department fee — 4% of the price. Paid at registration. Formally it is split between buyer and seller, but in practice the buyer almost always covers all of it.
- Agency commission — 2% of the price plus VAT on resale purchases. On off-plan the developer pays it.
- Trustee office registration fee — around 4,000 dirhams for deals above half a million.
- Title deed issuance — a few hundred dirhams.
- Developer’s NOC on resale — between 500 and 5,000 dirhams depending on the developer.
- Mortgage registration, if you need one — 0.25% of the loan plus valuation.
Recurring costs after purchase are the building’s service charges and, if the apartment is let, the management company’s fee. There is no property tax and no tax on rental income in the UAE.
Who can buy an apartment in Dubai
Foreign nationals buy property in Dubai outright (freehold) in designated zones, which cover practically every district where residential construction is happening: Dubai Marina, Downtown, Business Bay, JVC, Dubai Hills and dozens more. There is no nationality restriction, no residency requirement to buy, and no need to be in Dubai in person — the transaction can be completed under a power of attorney.
A purchase from 2 million dirhams qualifies for a ten-year investor residence visa. That is a separate process, handled after ownership is registered.
How the transaction works
- Choosing and checking the property. On resale it is worth looking at the transaction history in the building and the service charges; on new build, at construction progress and the developer’s record.
- Sale agreement (Form F) and a deposit, usually 10% of the price. The deposit is held by the agency or the trustee, not by the seller.
- Developer’s NOC — the developer confirms there are no outstanding service charges.
- Registration at the trustee office. Both parties attend, the buyer pays the price and the fees, and ownership transfers the same day.
- Title deed is issued immediately after registration, in electronic form.
Buying from a developer follows different steps: reservation, sale and purchase agreement, registration in the Oqood system and staged payment through to handover.
See also: Dubai areas by DLD data: prices, sales, rents and yields by district.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai cost
The median price of a one-bedroom over the past twelve months is 1.22 million dirhams for around 73 square metres. In Jumeirah Village Circle that apartment runs at about 1.07 million, in Dubai Marina about 1.68 million, in Business Bay about 1.95 million.
Are apartment prices in Dubai rising
Over the past twelve months the median price per square metre rose from 17,025 to 18,065 dirhams, about 6%. That figure should not be read as an investment return: it includes newer, more expensive buildings entering the market. Price growth in the same buildings is usually more modest, and we calculate it separately for each district.
Can I buy an apartment in Dubai without travelling there
Yes. The transaction can be completed under a power of attorney certified at a UAE consulate, and the title deed is issued electronically. Your presence is only needed to open a bank account, if you want one.
Do I need residency to buy property
No. Buying requires no residence status. The reverse applies: a purchase from 2 million dirhams itself qualifies you to apply for a ten-year investor visa.
What yield do Dubai apartments produce
Gross yield across the city is around 4.6% a year, ranging from 4% to 6.5% by district. That is annual rent against purchase price, before service charges and management costs.
Is it cheaper to buy off-plan or resale
There is no straight answer, because they are different products. Off-plan fixes the price years ahead and spreads the payments, but you cannot move in now and the developer pays the commission. Resale is available immediately, can be inspected and its running costs verified, but the buyer pays 2% commission and the developer’s NOC.
What next
If you already know the district and budget you are considering, look through the resale apartment catalogue or developer projects. On a tighter budget, there is a live selection of apartments under AED 1 million (1,081 projects right now). If you want your keys soon, see off-plan projects completing in 2026–2027; for a larger budget, penthouses in new developments. All selections update automatically. To go deeper on one district, its page carries price history back to 2010 and rent dynamics.
If you want your own situation assessed, write to us: we will match options to the budget and cost out a specific transaction — using registered sale prices from the same building, not asking prices.
PDF shortlist · updated 1 November 2026
New Dubai projects of November 2026
30 projects · prices from DLD and developers
30 more in the PDF: prices, handover dates, payment plans
The PDF opens instantly. Refreshed monthly from DLD data.