Bur Dubai is the old city on the south side of the creek, and it is the part of Dubai with the longest history and the least new construction. Textile souk, Al Fahidi, the abra crossings and the museum sit alongside dense residential blocks and, increasingly, new towers around Al Kifaf and Zabeel.

What the area is

Genuinely old Dubai, mixed use and dense, with a working street life the newer districts do not have. Well served by metro, close to Downtown and the airport, and considerably cheaper per square foot than anything comparable in distance terms.

Who it suits

Tenants and buyers who want to be central and connected and who prefer a real neighbourhood to a planned one. Rental demand is steady and driven by proximity to work rather than by lifestyle marketing. It is not a community for someone who wants a pool deck and a concierge.

What it costs

We are currently marketing 1 property to rent here: 1 apartments at AED 153,000.

Those are the units on our own books today, so the figures move. What they are useful for is establishing the shape of the market here rather than the exact price of the unit you end up buying.

The sub areas we hold stock or records for include Park Gate, Park Gate Residences, Al Kifaf.

What to check before you buy here

• The age and condition of the building, which varies enormously street by street. This matters more here than anywhere else on our list.
• Whether there is a functioning owners association, and what the reserve fund looks like. In older stock this is the difference between a good buy and a liability.
• Parking, which is genuinely difficult in parts of Bur Dubai.
• Noise and footfall, which are the character of the area and not a fault, but worth experiencing before you commit.
• Freehold status, which is not uniform across the district. Confirm what you would actually own.