ROI analysis of apartment in Creek Palace: DLD data and real deals

1. Defining the area and data structure

Actual location: according to DLD, Creek Palace belongs to the Al Khairan First district and the Dubai Creek Harbour master project. All further analytics are based on these filters. Sales and lease contracts are analysed for apartments (type Flat); where necessary, data at the building and district level is also used.

2. Transaction volume, liquidity and demand

Over the entire period, 592 apartment transactions have been registered in Creek Palace. The main sales volume fell on 2022 (328 deals), after which the number of transactions declined: 32 in 2023, 57 in 2024, with part of the contracts dated 2025 and 2026 (future-dated deals are most likely related to off-plan projects and the registration of sale and purchase agreements under joint ownership schemes).

The Al Khairan First market is extremely active: each quarter records from hundreds to several thousand transactions.

Leasing activity in Creek Palace itself is already ramping up — 189 rental contracts have been signed over the past months (lead generation for the building started as the units were handed over). Over the last four quarters, more than 180 contracts have been concluded in the building in total, confirming strong rental demand for new apartments despite the specifics of a new project.

3. Price dynamics per square metre — building and district

From 2022 to 2025, the dynamics of the average price per square metre in Creek Palace were as follows:

Q2 2022: around 19,800 AED/m²;
2023: growth into the 17,800–21,500 AED/m² range;
Q1 2024: already 22,000 AED/m²;
Q2 2024: 23,800 AED/m²;
Q3–Q4 2024: 25,600 AED/m²;
transactions dated 2026 — an increase to 26,700 AED/m² (obviously, partly off-plan contracts).

Overall, in 2 years the average price of an apartment in Creek Palace has increased by 25–30%. This is significantly faster than the district trend.

Across Al Khairan First, the price per m² also shows a clear upward trajectory, but the growth is slightly less steep:

Average prices in 2022: around 18,500 AED/m²;
2023: range of 20,900–22,000 AED/m²;
2024: stable around 23,000–24,000 AED/m², with individual peaks near 27,000 AED/m²;
2025 transactions: range of 24,100–25,100 AED/m².

At the moment, over the last 12 months the average transaction price per m² in Creek Palace is 23,250 AED/m². The district average is 24,550 AED/m². This means that prices in the building are within the market range, with a slight discount to the district average (likely because the building is not yet fully handed over and part of the sales are assignments of off-plan contracts).

4. Rentals: benchmarks for the building and the district

There are still no rental contracts for studios (zero rooms, 0BR) in Creek Palace. However, since handover, around 190 rental contracts of various formats have already been signed in the building. Based on these:

Average annual rental rate over the last year in Creek Palace: 1,690 AED/m².
District benchmark for Al Khairan First: 1,440 AED/m² per year.

Since 2023, the average rental rate in the district has increased by more than 20% (from 1,020 AED/m² in 2023 to 1,400+ AED/m² by mid‑2024). In Creek Palace, the trend is also distinctly upward: for new contracts in 2025 quarters, average values already reach 1,760–1,970 AED/m².

5. Current levels, yield and “fair price”

According to DLD data for the last 12 months for Creek Palace:

Average apartment purchase price: 23,250 AED/m².
Average annual rent: 1,690 AED/m².

For Al Khairan First:

Average purchase price: 24,550 AED/m².
Rent: 1,440 AED/m².

Calculation of gross ROI and a fair range for an investor:

Gross ROI for Creek Palace: ~7.3% per annum (1,690 / 23,250).
Gross ROI for the district: ~5.9% (1,440 / 24,550).

Adjustment to net income (taking into account entry costs of 7–8%):

Net ROI for Creek Palace: ~6.8% (including agency commission, DLD fee and additional costs).
Net ROI for the district: ~5.4%.

To achieve a target investment yield of 7–8% per annum, the “fair purchase price” (based on the latest rental data) is:

For Creek Palace: 21,125–24,140 AED/m² (the current actual level is close to the lower bound of this range).
For the district as a whole: 18,000–20,570 AED/m², which is noticeably below today’s average transaction level in the district.

This means Creek Palace offers one of the best yields in the location for new buildings, and when buying close to the market average price, an investor can achieve a 7%+ return without major discounts.

6. Conclusions on the building and the district

The asset is highly liquid, with a large number of transactions and steadily growing rental demand.
The dynamics for the building are stronger than for the district, which is typical for new towers in prime locations.
Prices and rental levels in the building are in line with the market, while investor yield is even higher than the district average (+23% to ROI).
Given the nature of a new stock, further dynamics will largely be determined by the level of competition among early (off-plan) investors, but over a 3–5 year horizon, stable demand and high rental rates provide a strong yield case.
There are still no 0BR/studio units for rent in the building, but for all other apartment types the averages are already statistically robust.

Based on DLD statistics, Creek Palace this year is an attractive new asset in one of the fastest-growing areas of Dubai Creek Harbour. The yield is objectively higher than the typical district level, and capital growth over two years has reached 25–30%.