ROI analysis of apartment in Iris Amber: DLD data and real deals

1. Definition of the area and data structure

Actual location: According to Dubai Land Department, the Iris Amber building belongs to the Al Jadaf area and is part of the Jaddaf Waterfront master project. The DLD database shows 118 sales transactions in this building and almost 10,000 transactions in Al Jadaf overall.

Sales of 2-bedroom apartments (2BR) in Iris Amber are recorded in DLD as “2 b/r”. For rentals, the filter by project “IRIS AMBER” is used, as lease contracts in the database are reported via project_name_en. Over the past 12 months, 40 active residential lease contracts have been recorded in IRIS AMBER (not only for 2BR; there is no 12‑month data specifically for 2BR).

2. Liquidity and market activity

In the 2BR segment, transactions in Iris Amber occur in compact waves: in 2024, by quarter there were 2, 14, 5 and 2 deals (Q1–Q4 respectively). This indicates either a large pool of primary sales within a specific period or a bulk release of investor-owned units to the market. Compared with the wider Al Jadaf area, liquidity for a 2BR in Iris Amber is lower in absolute terms (over the last four quarters the area recorded more than 600 2BR transactions).

Rental activity in Iris Amber is high: 40 lease transactions (all apartment types) were concluded over 12 months, while the area as a whole recorded more than 7,400 deals per year (clear evidence of sustained demand).

3. Sale price dynamics over 3–5 years

In Iris Amber, the first 2BR transactions appeared in Q3 2021 (at 13,951 AED/sq m). In 2024, quarterly averages fluctuated between 13,222 and 14,540 AED/sq m. The range of minimum and maximum transaction prices in Iris Amber in 2024 was 10,578 to 15,468 AED/sq m, reflecting variation in size, view and floor.

In Al Jadaf, 2BR price dynamics are significantly more volatile: in 2020–2021 prices hovered around 8,000–9,000 AED/sq m, but from 2022 a strong upward trend is observed, with a pronounced spike in 2023 (quarterly peaks: 20,500–25,000 AED/sq m), followed by a substantial correction in 2024: the average level is 16,800–24,700 AED/sq m. Against this backdrop, Iris Amber maintains a mid-range pricing level slightly below the area’s peak values.

4. Average market price over 12 months

Over the past 12 months, there have been no 2BR sale transactions in Iris Amber itself, so DLD does not record an average price level for this unit type in the building. Across Al Jadaf, the average achieved price per sq m for 2BR over the last 12 months was approximately 19,569 AED/sq m (613 transactions — a high volume, so the figures can be considered representative).

5. Rental rates and dynamics

The current average rent in the building (for all apartment sizes; there is no separate 12‑month statistic specifically for 2BR) is 1,110 AED/sq m/year. Over the last 12 months this is confirmed by 40 residential lease contracts (filtered by actual areas and excluding outliers). For comparison, the average level in Al Jadaf is 970.9 AED/sq m/year based on a substantial 7,435 transactions.

Thus, Iris Amber generally rents slightly above the area average, which can be reasonably interpreted as a premium for quality, the building’s recency or other characteristics.

6. ROI calculation (investor yield)

For Iris Amber, given the absence of sale transactions over the last year, a formal gross ROI cannot be calculated: we only know the rental rate (for the building), but not a confirmed sale price for this specific period.

For Al Jadaf, all the necessary figures are available. Area-wide range:
– Average market price per sq m (sale, 2BR, 12 months): 19,569 AED
– Average rent per sq m (12 months): 971 AED
– Gross ROI for the area: 971 / 19,569 ≈ 4.96%

Taking into account acquisition costs (7–8%), the adjusted net ROI for the area will be around 4.6%.

7. “Fair price” range for a target yield

If we take the IRIS AMBER rental rate (1,110 AED/sq m/year) and a target yield of 7–8%, the fair investment price per sq m looks as follows:
– For 8% ROI: 1,110 / 0.08 = 13,875 AED/sq m
– For 7% ROI: 1,110 / 0.07 = 15,857 AED/sq m

Comparing this with the market indicators for the area (19,569 AED/sq m) and the current price dynamics in Iris Amber (13,200–14,500 AED/sq m in recent quarters), we can conclude that the actual market price in Iris Amber is closer to the investment-justified level for a 7–8% yield, unlike the general area level (where such a yield would require a substantial discount to market price).

8. Conclusions and prospects

The asset enjoys stable rental demand and moderate sales liquidity. An investor entering at current Iris Amber prices can expect a yield of around 7–8%, which is rare for Al Jadaf under current conditions. The area-wide ROI is noticeably lower due to rising sale prices: for other properties where the price per sq m significantly exceeds 15,000–17,000 AED, achieving attractive rental returns becomes extremely challenging.

Prospects for Iris Amber from an investor’s perspective: a high rental rate against a relatively low entry price delivers competitive yields with strong rental liquidity. In terms of volume and stability of demand, the area remains one of the most sought-after among tenants.