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United Arab Emirates · AED

Real estate in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE is a federation of separate property regimes priced in dirhams: Dubai issues freehold in designated zones at a 4% Land Department fee, Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates charge 2%, and Sharjah grants a 100-year usufruct rather than a freehold deed. Four emirate guides, not one scraped classifieds dump.

Abu DhabiSharjahRas Al Khaimah
Freehold zones
RERA escrow
3D map
4% / 2%transfer fee: Dubai vs the other emirates
0%annual property tax — the service charge is the carry
RERA escrowwhere off-plan money is legally required to sit
Ejaritenancy registration that makes a lease enforceable
New-builds

New-builds in the UAE

Every project is tied to the official developer — units, handover, published AED/m² where they exist. Not a scraped classifieds dump.

Dubai Hills Estate — Neubau render

Dubai

Dubai Hills Estate

$3,800/m²

Dubai Hills, Dubai

10,000 units · 85% built 2027 Q4
Emaar Beachfront — Neubau render

Dubai

Emaar Beachfront

$5,500/m²

Emaar Beachfront, Dubai

9,000 units · 70% built 2027 Q2
Dubai Creek Harbour — Neubau render

Dubai

Dubai Creek Harbour

$3,200/m²

Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai

10,000 units · 75% built 2028 Q1
Arabian Ranches 3 — Neubau render

Dubai

Arabian Ranches 3

$2,400/m²

Arabian Ranches 3, Dubailand, Dubai

3,000 units · 80% built 2026 Q4
DAMAC Hills — Neubau render

Dubai

DAMAC Hills

$2,200/m²

DAMAC Hills, Dubailand, Dubai

4,000 units · 95% built 2026 Q4
AYKON City — Neubau render

Dubai

AYKON City

$3,000/m²

Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

1,600 units · 65% built 2027 Q4
DAMAC Towers by Paramount — Neubau render

Downtown Dubai

DAMAC Towers by Paramount

$4,000/m²

Burj Area, Downtown Dubai

1,200 units · 100% built ჩაბარებული (2022)
Safa One by de GRISOGONO — Neubau render

Dubai

Safa One by de GRISOGONO

$3,600/m²

Al Safa, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

480 units · 35% built 2028 Q2
Sobha Hartland — Sobha Realty render

Dubai

Sobha Hartland

$4,200/m²

Sobha Hartland, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Dubai

2,500 units · 85% built 2027 Q1

Developer: Sobha Realty

One Za'abeel — Ithra Dubai render

Dubai

One Za'abeel

On request

One Za'abeel, Za'abeel, Dubai

480 units · 100% built ჩაბარებული (2024)

Developer: Ithra Dubai

Town Square Dubai — Nshama render

Dubai

Town Square Dubai

$1,800/m²

Town Square, Al Qudra Road, Dubai

5,000 units · 80% built 2028 Q4

Developer: Nshama

Jumeirah Beach Residence — Dubai Properties render

Dubai

Jumeirah Beach Residence

$3,900/m²

JBR, Dubai Marina, Dubai

6,900 units · 100% built ჩაბარებული (2007)

Developer: Dubai Properties

Emirate law

How a purchase works in Dubai

RERA escrow (Law 8 of 2007). There is no annual property tax — the service charge is the carry.

4%Transfer fee at Dubai Land Department (DLD)
FreeholdFreehold in designated zones
EjariTenancy registration that makes a lease enforceable
AED 2,000,000Golden Visa via property — federal threshold, not an emirate fee
What a purchase really costs

AED 1,500,000 home in Dubai

Land Department transfer fee (4%)
AED 60,000
Trustee office & title issuance
AED 2,250
NOC and developer admin
AED 1,500
Agency, buyer side (2% + 5% VAT)
AED 31,500
Cash needed at the trustee office
AED 1,595,250

≈ +6.4% over the price. Dubai charges 4% at the Land Department; Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates charge 2%. There is no annual property tax, which is why the service charge — quoted in dirhams per square foot and revised yearly — is the number that actually decides a yield. Off-plan money belongs in a RERA escrow account; if there is no escrow, there is no deal.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

  • Every tenancy must be registered on Ejari — an unregistered contract has no standing at the rental dispute centre.
  • The RERA rental index sets how far a landlord may raise on renewal, and 90 days’ written notice is required to change any term.
  • Rent is still commonly paid in one to four cheques, and DEWA plus district cooling sit outside the quoted rent.

Service charge is the second mortgage nobody quotes. Ask for the per-square-foot figure and the last two years of revisions.

Cities

Four emirates, four rulebooks

Freehold is granted zone by zone and the transfer fee changes at the emirate border. Dubai’s DLD is not Abu Dhabi’s DMT, and a Sharjah title is a different instrument again.

Developers

The builders behind the pipeline

Registered developers tracked from public disclosure to handover. Reputation is never manufactured.

Danube Properties

Dubai · 11 yrs · 9,000 units delivered

Danube Properties is the residential arm of Danube Group (since 2014), building affordable-premium apartments across JVC, Business Bay, JLT and Dubailand: the Bayz, Glamz, Opalz, Elitz and Diamondz series.

Official site

Deyaar Development

Dubai · 18 yrs · 6,000 units delivered

Deyaar Development PJSC is a DFM-listed Dubai developer (2007) behind Midtown, Atria, Burj Daman and Regalia across Business Bay, DIFC and Production City.

Official site

Sobha Realty

Dubai · 49 yrs · 60,000 units delivered

Sobha Realty is Dubai's leading luxury developer (1976, PNC Menon): 11 masterplans in the UAE, AED 23bn sales in 2024, 6,819 units delivered in 2026. Projects: Sobha Hartland, Sobha One, Sobha SeaHaven, Sobha Hartland II, Creek Vistas, Waves, Crest Grande, Sobha Reserve, Sobha Orbis.

Official site

Tiger Properties

Dubai · 48 yrs · 15,000 units delivered

Tiger Group is a veteran UAE developer (1976) building high-volume residential towers in Dubai Silicon Oasis, Ajman and Sharjah: Priva, Sunrose, Skyz.

Official site

Nshama

Dubai · 12 yrs · 5,000 units delivered

Nshama is the private Dubai developer behind Town Square Dubai — a self-contained neighbourhood of parks, Vida Cinemas and value apartments.

Official site

Dubai Properties

Dubai · 22 yrs · 25,000 units delivered

Dubai Properties, the residential arm of Dubai Holding, developed Jumeirah Beach Residence, Mudon and Dubailand and Business Bay schemes — 25,000+ delivered units.

Official site

wasl properties

Dubai · 17 yrs · 8,000 units delivered

wasl properties, the residential brand of Dubai Real Estate Corporation, builds the Wasl Gate and Wasl1 districts on Sheikh Zayed Road and manages a large heritage rental stock in Deira and Bur Dubai.

Official site

Ithra Dubai

Dubai · 8 yrs · 1,000 units delivered

Ithra Dubai is the development arm of Dubai World Trade Centre; One Za'abeel pairs two towers bridged by The Link cantilever, with a hotel and residences.

Official site

Arada

Sharjah · 8 yrs · 4,000 units delivered

Arada is Sharjah's leading private developer (2017), building the Aljada urban district and the Masaar forest community — a combined portfolio above AED 25bn.

Official site

Shurooq

Sharjah · 16 yrs · 3,000 units delivered

Shurooq, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, master-develops Maryam Island, Al Qasba, Al Mamzar and the Heart of Sharjah heritage district.

Official site

Reportage Properties

Abu Dhabi · 11 yrs · 5,000 units delivered

Reportage Properties is a private Abu Dhabi developer (2014) delivering value housing in Masdar City (Leonardo Village, Tsawen), on Yas Island and in Dubai.

Official site

Eagle Hills

Abu Dhabi · 11 yrs · 3,000 units delivered

Eagle Hills (2014, Mohamed Alabbar) is an Abu Dhabi master developer behind Ramhan Island in Abu Dhabi and Maryam Island in Sharjah, plus international ventures — parent of Tbilisi's Eagle Hills Georgia.

Official site

Dubai is the liquidity hub: off-plan towers, ready apartments in Marina, Downtown and JVC, and a rental market tied to visas and school calendars. Abu Dhabi is quieter, with more villa communities and its own land authority. Sharjah is the commuter emirate on a different instrument, and Ras Al Khaimah is being repriced by the Al Marjan resort pipeline.

Buying off-plan should go through a RERA-registered escrow account. Ready property transfers at the emirate’s own land authority — Dubai’s DLD is not Abu Dhabi’s DMT and neither is Sharjah’s registration department. There is no annual property tax here, which is why the service charge, quoted per square foot and revised yearly, is the number that decides a yield.

sivrce.ae redirects to sivrce.com/ae. Arabic lives at /ar/ae for readers who want it; English at /ae is the default canonical.

FAQ

Can foreigners buy in Dubai?
Yes, in designated freehold areas. The title is issued by the Dubai Land Department. Off-plan payments should sit in a RERA escrow account, not a developer’s personal account.
Is sivrce.ae a separate indexable site?
No. It is a defensive country TLD that 308s to sivrce.com/ae so Google and AI engines see one UAE URL set.

All markets: sivrce.com · Georgia marketplace: sivrce.ge · Prices and availability are published only when a verified listing exists. Market currency: AED.

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