1. Definition of the area and data structure
Actual location: based on DLD data, the Lime Gardens building is located in the Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid area, with Dubai Hills Estate as the master development. For this asset, more than 200 sale transactions for 1-bedroom apartments (1 b/r) have been recorded, which provides good representativeness for analysis.
In the DLD rental database, there is not a single registered lease contract for Lime Gardens and, more broadly, for 1-bedroom apartments within the Dubai Hills Estate master project. Therefore, to analyse market rents we use the entire pool of residential rental properties of the “apartment” type in the Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid area (area-level aggregation). This is the highest acceptable level of aggregation in the absence of contracts under more precise filters.
2. Dynamics of transactions and prices for apartment purchases
Sales of 1-bedroom apartments in the Lime Gardens building have been taking place regularly since mid‑2022, with quarterly transaction volumes ranging from a few to several dozen contracts per period. The range of average prices per square metre at the start of sales was 18,000–19,000 AED (Q3–Q4 2022), then during 2023 there was a gradual increase to 20,000–21,000 AED, and in 2024 levels of around 23,000–24,000 AED per m² have already been recorded. Over the last 12 months (July 2023 – June 2024), the average price of actual transactions in Lime Gardens amounted to 25,615 AED per m² (specifically for 1-bedroom units in this building under standard filters by size and price per square metre).
For comparison: similar indicators for the Dubai Hills Estate master project (1-bedroom apartments) show growth in the average price per m² from ~22,000 AED at the beginning of 2024 to ~24,300 AED over the last 12 months. Thus, in recent months Lime Gardens has been trading 5–6% above the average market level within Dubai Hills Estate for 1-bedroom units.
3. Dynamics of rental rates
In practice, the DLD database contains no rental information specifically for the Lime Gardens building (and, in general, for 1-bedroom apartments across the entire Dubai Hills Estate master project). Therefore, market rent can only be estimated at the Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid area level (only residential properties with adequate size and rental price parameters are taken into account).
The average rental rate per m² for all residential apartments in the area over the last 12 months amounted to 1,452 AED per year, with high representativeness (more than 10,000 contracts per year). The dynamics of rental rates over the last 4 years show a steady increase from ~700–1,000 AED/m²/year in 2021–22 to 1,350–1,450 AED/m²/year in 2024.
Important: the absence of contracts for Lime Gardens and even for the entire Dubai Hills Estate is obviously related to the newness of the project and its off-plan status, when most apartments have not yet been handed over or have not appeared on the secondary rental market.
4. Analysis of investment returns and price alignment
– Average purchase price of a 1-bedroom apartment in Lime Gardens over the last 12 months: 25,616 AED/m².
– Comparable level for Dubai Hills Estate: 24,327 AED/m².
– Average market rental rate for the area (entire apartment pool): 1,452 AED/m²/year.
Actual investment return (ROI), based solely on reliable DLD data, is calculated as follows: the annual rental rate is divided by the purchase price per m².
– Gross ROI for Lime Gardens (indicative): 1,452 / 25,616 = 5.7% per annum (area benchmark).
– Gross ROI for Dubai Hills Estate: 1,452 / 24,327 = 6.0% per annum (also based on area rents).
After adjusting for transaction costs (7–8% — DLD fee, brokerage and other expenses), the expected net yield will be lower: around 5.3–5.4% for the area and 5.0–5.3% for the specific Lime Gardens building.
The fair “investment range” of price per square metre for a target net yield of 7–8% per annum is 18,150–20,743 AED/m² (area benchmark based on market rents; for Lime Gardens the range is the same, since the rental level is taken at the area, not building, level). The current transaction price in Lime Gardens is 24–41% above the upper bound of the investment‑justified range for a 7–8% yield under current rental market conditions.
5. Liquidity and outlook
Sales liquidity: high — Lime Gardens has recorded dozens of transactions for 1-bedroom apartments each quarter throughout the entire sales period, including recent months.
Rental liquidity: extremely high across the entire area, with a very active rental market and rapidly rising rates. For Lime Gardens specifically, it is not yet possible to see the actual rental yield in practice due to the absence of DLD contracts (apparently, the building has not yet been handed over/put into active rental circulation).
Growth potential: the dynamics of both sales prices and rental rates in the area and in Dubai Hills Estate show steady growth, but the current price level in Lime Gardens already embeds a significant market premium (5–6% more expensive than the master project average), which at current rental rates translates into a reduced investment yield (gross 5.7% versus the desired 7–8%).
6. Conclusion
As of today, Lime Gardens formally falls into the upper price segment within Dubai Hills Estate and the entire Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid area for 1-bedroom apartments. At the current level of confirmed rents in the area, the expected yield (gross/net) is 5.7/5.3% per annum — below the classic target return for a buy‑to‑let investor. To reach a 7–8% yield, either further growth in the rental market or a 25–40% discount to current market purchase prices is required. Otherwise, in terms of liquidity and general market trends, the area continues to show strong demand and solid prospects over a 3–5 year horizon.
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