Chelsea Residences 1

DAMAC Properties is a Dubai developer chaired and owned by Hussain Sajwani, with its headquarters in Dubai. It was listed on the Dubai Financial Market in early 2015 and was taken private again in 2022, when Sajwani bought the remaining shares, according to Wikipedia. The company builds across the range, from apartments in the central districts to villas and townhouses in large master communities along the Dubai to Al Ain direction.

This guide is for buyers comparing DAMAC with other developers. It covers where DAMAC builds, the communities people search for by name, the projects we list today, how an off-plan purchase is regulated, what DAMAC has said about its own handover record, and what to check in the paperwork. It also links to our pages for each area, so you can compare buildings side by side.

Who DAMAC is

DAMAC is a private group today. Wikipedia records the listing on the Dubai Financial Market in 2015 and the 2022 return to private ownership. The same page notes that the company struggled in the 2008 financial crisis and was criticised for build quality in its early years. Those are historical points, and they are one reason a careful buyer looks at recent handovers rather than the brand alone.

DAMAC is also known for partnerships with outside brands. Wikipedia lists the Trump Organization (the golf development at DAMAC Hills, where the Trump International Golf Club opened in February 2017), de Grisogono (Safa One), Paramount Hotels and Resorts (DAMAC Towers by Paramount) and Chelsea Football Club (Chelsea Residences in Dubai Maritime City). Our listings include further branded names such as Bay by Cavalli. Branding affects design and marketing. It does not change the regulation that applies to the building.

For a wider comparison of developers, see our developers directory and our guide on how to check a developer before buying off-plan.

DAMAC communities and signature projects

Most searches for DAMAC are really searches for a community. People type DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Hills 2 or DAMAC Lagoons, then the name of a cluster inside it. The three master communities work differently from each other.

• DAMAC Hills is built around a golf course. Wikipedia dates the Trump International Golf Club to February 2017. Clusters such as Golf Greens, Golf Gate and Artesia sit here.
• DAMAC Hills 2 is a separate, larger community of townhouses, villas and apartment clusters. Evergreens, Elo and Violet are marketed here.
• DAMAC Lagoons is themed on Mediterranean destinations, so cluster names include Ibiza, Marbella, Malta and Mykonos. DAMAC says it expects most of its 2026 deliveries to come from here (see the handover section).

In the central districts DAMAC builds towers rather than communities. Business Bay has the largest concentration of them, including Canal Crown, Chic Tower and Safa Two. Others are in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Harbour and Maritime City.

DAMAC projects on our site

The table lists a selection of the DAMAC projects on our site, grouped by the area shown on each project page. Open any link for the floor plans, sizes and the current payment plan from the developer. Our page above this guide lists every project.

Note that the same cluster can appear under more than one phase name. Elo, Elo 2 and Elo 3 are separate releases, as are Golf Greens 1, 2A and 2B. Check the exact phase, unit and handover date before comparing prices.

DAMAC handover record, from its own announcements

On 4 September 2026 DAMAC announced that it had handed over more than 50,000 homes in total. In the same release it said it was targeting more than 8,800 residential units for delivery in 2026, across DAMAC Lagoons, DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Hills 2, Chic Tower and Elegance Tower, and that it had more than 55,000 units in planning and development.

This is the developer's own statement. It tells you the scale of the programme. It does not tell you how any single building performed against its original date. For that, compare the handover date printed in your SPA at purchase with the date the building actually completed. Our guide to handover delays and your rights explains what the contract and the law allow if a date slips.

How buying off-plan from DAMAC works

The steps are broadly the same for every Dubai developer, because the rules come from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and its regulator RERA. The notes below summarise what the DLD publishes in its published guidance for buyers. Your own contract and the DAMAC sales team confirm the details for a specific building.

1. Choose a unit and pay the booking deposit. Ask in writing whether the deposit is refundable and on what conditions.
2. Sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA). It sets the price, the payment schedule and the expected handover date. Read the clauses on delay, cancellation and transfer.
3. Registration on Oqood. Off-plan sales are recorded on the DLD Oqood system. Our guide to the title deed and Oqood explains what the record proves and what it does not.
4. Payments go to the escrow account. The DLD says all amounts collected from off-plan buyers are deposited in a project escrow account, opened with a bank that is licensed by the Central Bank and approved by RERA.
5. Funds are released against construction. The trustee bank's engineer verifies completed milestones before money is paid out. The DLD also states that only 5% of total sales can be spent on project marketing.
6. Retention after completion. The DLD says 5% of the amount paid into escrow is retained for one year after completion.
7. Snagging and handover. Inspect the unit before you accept it. See snagging and handover in Dubai.

A project can only be launched or announced once the developer has completed registration and holds the accreditation certificate issued through Oqood, according to the same DLD guidance. That certificate and the project number printed on it are the first thing to ask for. For a large master community such as Lagoons or Hills 2, also ask which phase your unit sits in and what is being built next to it. Our guide to how off-plan payment plans work covers the usual instalment structure.

Payment plans

DAMAC publishes a payment plan for each launch on its own website and brochures, and the structure changes from project to project. Some plans spread most of the price over the construction period and some keep a share for handover. We do not quote a standard DAMAC split because there is not one. Take the current offer for your exact building, in writing, and compare it with buying property in Dubai on instalments for what each stage means.

Also budget for costs outside the payment plan. The DLD registration fee and other charges are set out in our guide to Dubai Land Department fees, and annual running costs in service charges and maintenance fees.

What to check before buying a DAMAC property

• The RERA project number and escrow account. They should appear on the SPA and on the DLD system. Pay only into the account named in your contract.
• The phase and the handover wording. Is the date a fixed day, a quarter or a range? What happens after the grace period?
• The exact unit. Number, floor, size, view and the floor plan attached to the SPA. See BUA and suite area on a floor plan.
• Service charges. A new community has no track record, so ask for the rate of a comparable finished DAMAC building. See how to check service charges.
• Branded names. If the name of a fashion or hotel brand is part of the sale, ask what the licence covers and who runs the building after handover.
• Resale rules. If you may sell before completion, read selling an off-plan property before handover first.

Off-plan or a finished DAMAC home

The choice is mostly between certainty and timing. In a finished DAMAC building you can see the unit, the views, the neighbours and the service charge bills, and you may be able to move in or rent out quickly. The choice of units is limited to what owners are selling.

Off-plan gives you a full release to choose from and a payment schedule spread over construction. In return you wait for handover and accept that the finished result can differ slightly from the brochure. Timelines can move, so avoid planning your life around one date. Compare the off-plan price with a finished unit of the same size in the same area. The gap shows what you pay for newness and for the payment plan. See whether off-plan suits you for the questions to ask first.

How DAMAC compares with other developers

The table is a neutral guide to where several developers focus. It is not a ranking, and it says nothing about quality. Areas come from each developer's own listings and from the projects on our site.

A DAMAC cluster competes with other clusters in the same community, whoever built them. For a developer-neutral view of one area, use our off-plan projects page.

Where to go next

Start with the community that fits how you want to live: DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Hills 2, DAMAC Lagoons or Business Bay. If you are new to the process, read our buying process and buying property in Dubai as a foreigner. For villa and townhouse buyers, off-plan townhouses and villas in Dubai compares the formats. For the developer's own launches and brochures, use the DAMAC website.