Buying an apartment in Dubai, from search to keys. 

Dubai allows foreigners full ownership (freehold) in designated areas. That is where the areas tracked on our site are: Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Hills Estate and the others. The title deed is registered in your name with the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the emirate's land registry. It also publishes every sale: that is where the prices in this guide come from.

Two markets coexist. Resale (“ready”): an apartment already handed over, which you can visit, whose service charges and often rent are known. Off-plan: an apartment sold by the developer before or during construction, paid in stages. The two sell at very different prices per square metre, and the registry keeps them apart: so does this guide.

Start with your goal. To live in it, neighbourhood life, schools and commute come first. To let it out, look at the rents actually registered (Ejari) and the share of let units in the building. For both, look for an area where the median rent and the median price are published over the same window. Our area pages show them side by side.

1. 1Set the full budget: the price, plus buying costs (including 4% for the DLD). With a mortgage, add the down payment the bank requires.
2. 2Choose the area on prices paid, not asking prices: compare the median of registered sales and Ejari rents.
3. 3Choose between resale and off-plan, then shortlist two to four properties or projects and compare them on the same criteria.
4. 4Run the checks before paying anything. To check: licensed broker and authorised listing, approved developer, project or property status (details below).
5. 5Book and sign. On a resale, an offer then the buyer–seller contract. Off-plan, the unit booking then the developer's sale and purchase agreement (SPA).
6. 6Pay through the right channel: a resale price at the time of transfer, off-plan instalments into the project's escrow account. Never into a personal account.
7. 7Register with the DLD: transfer and title deed for a resale; entry in the Oqood interim register for an off-plan purchase, by the developer.
8. 8Take the keys: on a resale, when the seller hands over. Off-plan, after the completion certificate and the unit inspection, with defects listed in writing.

The table below is computed on each reading from sales registered with the DLD (sales only, no mortgages or gifts). It covers the 12 months ending at the latest known sale, within each area page's cadastral area(s). These are the same figures as on the home page, the areas page and the top of each area page.

• Median: half the sales were below it, half above. It is only published from 15 sales; below that, the cell stays empty.
• Resale and off-plan are kept apart: new-build often costs more per square metre, and mixing it with resale would distort the comparison.
• An area price locates the market, not a building. View, floor, condition and service charges move an apartment's price around the median.
• Past prices say nothing about future prices: no change in value and no return can be promised to you.

The price is not the cost. On a resale, the Dubai Land Department registration fee is 4% of the price. On top come the fees of the trustee office that registers the transfer and the agency commission. With a mortgage, add the bank's arrangement fees and the mortgage registration fee at the DLD. Off-plan, for entry in the Oqood interim register, the DLD lists 2% of the value for the seller and 2% for the buyer. Small fixed fees come on top. The contract says who actually pays them.

There is no notary in the French sense. What a French buyer calls notary fees corresponds here to the DLD and trustee office fees. Our buying costs guide computes them line by line on a dated schedule, for your price. Our own fees are published, with what they cover.

After the purchase come the service charges, paid each year to the building's management. Ask for the amount before signing, as they weigh directly on any rental yield.

UAE Central Bank financing cap, “expatriates” category. It is 60% of the value for an investment or second property, 50% for an off-plan property. The regulation has no category of its own for non-residents and allows each bank to require a larger down payment. Ask each bank the cap it offers a non-resident.

In practice, the bank lends at most the share of the price this cap allows; you pay the rest and the costs. The rate, the term and the documents required vary from one bank to another and with your profile. Get an agreement in principle before booking, and compare at least two offers. Off-plan, the first instalments are often paid before any loan can be released.

According to GDRFA Dubai, one or more properties can open the way to the property Golden Visa. Their total value must be at least AED 2,000,000 (≈ EUR 493,000). A mortgaged property counts; under joint ownership, your own share counts. The visa changes neither the price, nor the costs, nor your tax position at home. Our guide details the conditions, duration, family and steps.

• The broker and the listing: a property advert in Dubai must have an advertising permit. The DLD lets you check a broker's licence and a listing's permit (licence and permit validation service, Trakheesi).
• The developer and the project (off-plan): the developer must appear among the approved developers. The DLD's “Real Estate Project Status” service shows the project's status and the bank holding its escrow account.
• The escrow account: off-plan, every payment goes into the project's escrow account required by Law No. 8 of 2007. It is the one named in the contract. A transfer requested to a personal account, or to another bank, is a signal to stop.
• The property (resale): the DLD's “Property Status” service shows a property's status. Have it confirmed that the seller is the registered owner, and that any mortgage will be released at transfer.
• The promises: a “guaranteed” yield, a price “below market” with no comparable sale, a booking to confirm within the hour. Always compare with the price paid in the building or the area.
• The contract: have it reviewed by an independent lawyer before signing, especially the clauses on handover, penalties, cancellation and resale before completion.

To let it out, the lease is registered in Ejari. The yield our pages publish is gross: median rent over median price. It is before service charges, vacancy, management and any tax in your home country. Net income is always lower, and it is never guaranteed. To resell, look first at what the market paid in your building and your area.