Best Off-Plan Projects for Investment in Dubai

The off-plan projects that suit an investor in Dubai depend on budget and goal. On our list, entry prices run from AED 640,000 at Azizi Venice in Dubai South to over AED 69 million at Enara in Business Bay. Below are the twenty projects we hold, with prices, sizes and who each suits, plus what to check before buying.

Most articles with this title give you a list of areas. This one gives you the projects we actually hold, what it costs to get into each, how big the units are, and who each one suits. Every figure below is our own record for that project rather than a market estimate.

One thing to be straight about first: a handover date is the single most consequential fact in an off-plan purchase, and developers' dates move. Each project page shows the expected handover quarter where we hold one, but do not plan around it until the developer has confirmed the current schedule in writing. Ask us and we will get it for you.

Which off-plan projects do we hold, and what do they cost?

Entry prices are the lowest unit we have recorded for each project and they move with each release. Treat them as a starting point for a conversation, not a quote. Rosewater, Marina Place and Greenville are marked sold out in our records, so units there come up only as resales, at the seller's price.

Which off-plan projects have the lowest entry price?

Azizi Venice in Dubai South starts at AED 640,000, which is the cheapest entry on this list by a wide margin, and its smallest units are 332 sq ft. Be clear about what that price buys: a studio in a very large development, in a district whose value case rests on Al Maktoum airport expanding. The same development runs up to AED 10.6 million, so the name alone tells a buyer very little.

Golf Dale at AED 1,120,000 is the more conservative version of the same idea. It sits in Emaar South, also in the southern corridor, but in a golf community by Emaar, whose finished communities you can visit and judge.

Which projects are in communities that are already finished?

This is the argument we make most often, and it is the one buyers underrate. A 2027 handover in a district that is still sand is a different purchase from the same handover in a community where the school, the park and the mall already trade.

Dubai Hills Estate is the clearest example, and we hold three there: Park Lane from AED 1,400,000, Vida Residences Club Point from AED 1,608,888, and Hillsedge from AED 1,840,000. The community around them is built and lived in. The trade is that you are not buying early into an unproven area, so the easy uplift has already happened.

Which off-plan projects are on the waterfront?

Four distinct propositions, and they are not interchangeable:

• Bayview at Emaar Beachfront, from AED 3,480,000, with units running to 11,683 sq ft. Genuine beachfront on a fixed amount of land, which is the whole case.
• Rosewater at Dubai Harbour, from AED 1,161,888, the lowest waterfront entry on our list, though it is sold out with the developer, so look for resales.
• Mina Rashid, where we hold Porto View, Pier Point and Marina Place from AED 1,930,000. A marina district being built on the old port, close to the older city rather than to new Dubai. See Mina Rashid.
• Dubai Creek Harbour, where Mangrove starts at AED 1,600,000, AEON at AED 1,710,000 and Palace Residences Creek Blue at AED 3,419,888. Creek frontage with the wildlife sanctuary opposite.

Where do you get the most space for the money?

Price per square foot changes the ranking completely. Greenridge in Emaar South starts at AED 2,900,000 for 2,421 sq ft, and Farm Garden in The Valley runs from 8,000 to 10,000 sq ft. Compare those against an apartment at a similar total price in a central tower and the difference is stark. What you give up is the commute and, for now, the amenity around you.

What changes at the top of the market?

Casa Canal by AHS Properties in Al Safa starts at AED 20 million, and Enara by Omniyat in Business Bay runs from AED 69 million to AED 113.5 million for 13,261 to 15,839 sq ft. At this level the questions change: liquidity on resale depends on a small pool of buyers, and service charges on branded prime stock can be high, so get the figure in writing.

What decides whether an off-plan purchase works?

• The escrow account. Under Law No. 8 of 2007, off-plan payments must go into the project's escrow account. Confirm yours do, and nowhere else. You can check a project's registration and progress on the DLD project status service.
• The gap between the payment plan and the handover. A long plan is only an advantage if the dates hold. Get both in writing and read them together.
• How much competing stock completes in the same quarter nearby. This affects resale far more than it affects rent, and it is the factor buyers most often miss.
• Service charges. On a high amenity building they can take a serious share of the yield. Our guide to service charges in Dubai covers how they are set.
• The developer's record on dates, not on brochures. Our guide to checking a developer sets out what to ask for.
• The specification in the contract, not in the show unit.

Who can buy these projects, and do they lead to a Golden Visa?

Foreign buyers can own in Dubai's designated freehold areas, which covers every project listed above. See freehold ownership in Dubai.

For residency, the DLD's investor Golden Visa service covers owners of property bought for AED 2 million or more, for a 10-year renewable residence permit, and lists a title deed among the documents. How an off-plan purchase qualifies should be confirmed on the day you buy. Our guide on off-plan and the ten year visa explains how it works.

Which of these projects should you choose?

It depends on whether you are buying to live in, to rent out or to resell, and on your horizon. Those three answers point at different projects on this page, which is why we would rather talk to you than publish a single ranking. Tell us what you are trying to achieve and we will narrow this list to two or three and explain the case against each of them as well as for.