The Lagoons, Creek Harbour and Lagoon Towers: What the Names Mean

Four similar names cause more confusion in Dubai property than almost anything else, and they are not the same place. Getting them straight before you search saves a lot of time.

The four names

• Dubai Creek Harbour, officially registered as The Lagoons. This is the large Emaar master community on the creek east of Downtown. If a listing says "The Lagoons", this is almost always what it means.
• DAMAC Lagoons, an entirely separate DAMAC villa and townhouse community out along the Al Ain road, built around artificial swimming lagoons. Nowhere near the creek.
• Individual towers with Lagoon in the name, such as Lagoon Views or the Lagoon towers, which sit inside one or other of the above.
• Sobha Hartland waterfront, sometimes marketed with lagoon language, which is a third location again.

So "lagoon" in a Dubai listing tells you almost nothing about where the property is. Ask for the community and the building.

Dubai Creek Harbour, since that is what most people mean

An Emaar master community on the creek, built around a marina and a central park, with Downtown a short drive west. It is one of the largest single development areas in the city, which is both the attraction and the risk: the amenity provision when finished will be substantial, and a great deal of it is not finished.

We broker 28 off-plan projects here, from AED 1,600,000, which is the largest concentration anywhere in our list. The twelve cheapest:

We do not publish handover dates for these projects, because we do not hold confirmed ones. Ask about a specific project and we will get the current schedule from the developer in writing.

We are currently marketing 3 for sale from AED 2,150,000 and 7 to rent from AED 94,000 a year here.

What to check

• Which phase, and what is still to be built around you. The single most important question in a community this size.
• Whether the water view is protected, or whether the plot in front is consented.
• How much similar stock completes in the same years. Emaar releases into the same district repeatedly, so your competition at resale is often the same developer.
• The service charge for the specific building, in writing. It recurs annually and it is the figure most buyers underestimate.

More detail in off-plan in Dubai Creek Harbour, and the community page for what is available today.