Cheapest Off-Plan Property in Dubai: What AED 630,000 Buys

The cheapest off-plan unit TRPE currently brokers is Binghatti Tulip in Jumeirah Village Circle at AED 630,000 for 303 sq ft. That is a studio, and it is a genuine price rather than a headline with conditions attached.

Whether it is a good buy is a different question, and it is not decided by the purchase price.

The lowest entry prices we hold

14 of our 45 projects start below AED 1 million, and most are in a handful of districts. Jumeirah Village Circle alone accounts for 11 of our projects.

What you actually get at this level

A studio or a compact one bedroom, in a mid rise building, in a district built mostly of similar mid rise buildings. The finish is usually reasonable. What varies is the building running costs and how many identical units come to market around you.

The costs that decide whether it works

• Service charges. On a small unit these are proportionally brutal. A charge that looks modest per square foot can take a serious bite out of a studio rent. Read service charges in Dubai explained before comparing two cheap projects.
• The 4 per cent transfer fee and registration costs, which are not in the sticker price.
• Competing supply. This is the one that catches people. If a district takes delivery of several hundred similar studios in the same year, you compete with all of them at first letting and again at resale.
• Chiller and DEWA arrangements, which differ by building and change the rent you can realistically ask.

Cheap versus good value

A cheaper unit in a district with less incoming supply is usually the better buy than the absolute cheapest unit in the busiest one. That is the whole trade, and it is knowable before you commit: ask what else is under construction within a few streets and when it completes.

If your budget is under AED 1 million and you want an honest read on which of these we would put our own money into, ask us. See all 45 off-plan projects.