Buyer guide
Buying in Dubai.
Everything an international buyer needs before, during, and after the purchase, distilled and honest.
Why Dubai keeps drawing capital.
Dubai sits at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa with one of the world's most permissive ownership regimes for non-residents. In designated freehold zones, foreign buyers own 100% of the title, not a long lease, not a corporate vehicle, the actual deed. There is no personal income tax, no capital gains tax on property, and no inheritance tax on real estate held by individuals.
The dirham has been pegged to the US dollar at AED 3.6725 since 1997, which removes currency risk for buyers transferring from USD-denominated accounts. Rental yields on well-placed apartments have averaged 6–8% gross over the last three years across the most published REIDIN and ValuStrat reports, sitting comfortably above London, Paris, and Singapore.
- 100% freehold ownershipForeign nationals own the title outright in designated freehold zones.
- 0% income & capital-gains taxNo tax on rental income, no tax on the sale uplift.
- USD-pegged currencyAED is fixed to the dollar, no FX risk from USD inflows.
- Yields 6–8% grossAbove most mature European capitals on comparable stock.
- Golden Visa eligibilityProperty investments over AED 2M qualify for the 10-year residency.
How the purchase actually works.
The Dubai off-plan process is more standardised than most international buyers expect. Once you've narrowed down a residence, the typical sequence runs: reservation form and 10–20% booking payment to a developer escrow account, sales-and-purchase agreement (SPA) signing within 14 days, Oqood interim registration with the Dubai Land Department (DLD), construction-linked instalments through the build, and finally handover with title deed transfer.
Everything you pay during construction sits in a developer escrow account regulated by RERA, it is released to the developer only as audited construction milestones are met. This is the single most important buyer protection in the Dubai system and the reason off-plan investment here carries materially less counterparty risk than in markets without escrow regulation.
- 1 · Reserve10–20% booking deposit into the developer's RERA escrow account.
- 2 · Sign the SPASales-and-Purchase Agreement within 14 days of reservation.
- 3 · Oqood registrationInterim registration with the Dubai Land Department.
- 4 · Construction instalmentsMilestone-linked payments through the build.
- 5 · Handover & titleSnagging, final payment, title-deed transfer at the DLD.
The Golden Visa, plainly.
The UAE Golden Visa is a 10-year renewable residency granted to qualifying property investors. The most common route is owning property worth AED 2 million or more, applies to either a single residence or a combined portfolio. The visa covers the investor, the spouse, and dependent children under 25 (sons) or any age (daughters). Domestic staff are sponsorable.
Property used for the application can be off-plan or ready, mortgaged or fully owned (with the buyer's equity meeting the AED 2M threshold). Approval typically lands within 30 working days of submission. The visa removes the need for a local sponsor, opens UAE bank-account access without restrictions, and unlocks resident benefits across schools, healthcare, and utilities.
- ThresholdAED 2,000,000 in qualifying property (single or aggregate).
- Duration10 years, renewable on continuing eligibility.
- CoverageInvestor + spouse + dependent children + domestic staff.
- Off-plan eligibleOff-plan units count once 50% has been paid to escrow.
- No sponsor requiredSelf-sponsored, no employer or local partner needed.
What to watch out for.
The Dubai market is well-regulated but not friction-free. The following items are the ones that catch first-time international buyers most often, in our experience. None are deal-breakers, they are simply line items to verify rather than assume.
- RERA permit numberEvery off-plan launch must carry a RERA project permit. Verify it on the DLD Dubai REST app before any payment moves.
- Escrow account nameCheques and transfers should go to the project-specific escrow account at a UAE bank, not to the developer's general account.
- Service chargesBranded residences and waterfront towers typically run AED 20–40 per sqft per year. Read the BOQ and check the operator's history before signing.
- DLD feesDubai Land Department charges 4% of the purchase price at registration. Many developers cover this on off-plan; verify before assuming.
- Trustee fees & broker commissionTrustee office charges ~AED 4,200 at registration. Broker commission is typically paid by the seller in resale, clarify in writing.
- Delivery delaysEven well-run developers occasionally slip by 1–2 quarters. Read the SPA's penalty clause for delay, most are weighted toward the buyer.
What you'll spend besides the headline number.
The sticker price on a Dubai listing is a clean number, but the total cost of acquisition adds 6–8% on top of it for most ready-property transactions. Off-plan tends to be lower at registration since many developers absorb the DLD fee as an incentive. Here is the standard list.
- DLD registration fee4% of the property price, split conventionally 50/50 between buyer and seller (but often paid in full by the buyer on resale).
- DLD admin feeAED 580 for property under AED 500K, AED 4,200 above, flat.
- Title-deed issuanceAED 250, flat.
- Real-estate broker commission2% of the price + 5% VAT, typically paid by the buyer in resale.
- ConveyancingOptional but recommended, AED 5,000–10,000 for an independent legal review of the SPA.
- Mortgage fees (if financing)0.25% of loan + AED 290 mortgage registration + bank arrangement fee (often ~1%).
- Annual service chargesAED 10–40 per sqft per year depending on the building's amenity stack and operator.
▸ Area guides · Bölge rehberleri
Dubai community briefings
Community Guide · Al Quoz
Al Khail Gate — Al Quoz's workhorse apartment community, priced for the long haul.
9 min →
Community Guide · Dubailand
Town Square — the master plan Nshama actually delivered.
10 min →
Community Guide · Nakheel Freehold
Al Furjan — the mid-city community that finally has its own metro.
11 min →
Community Guide · Nakheel Freehold
Jumeirah Park — the mature villa community that stayed cheaper than JLT.
10 min →
Community Guide · Nakheel Freehold
Jumeirah Village Triangle — JVC's quieter, greener neighbour.
9 min →
Buyer stories
What people who bought from us actually said.
Names initialised at our buyers' request. Each card links to the residence the buyer reserved through us.
I emailed four agencies the same question on a Wednesday morning. By lunchtime, one had come back with the floor plan attached and an honest answer about service charges. Three weeks later I'd reserved.
Türkçe danışmanla çalışmak işin tamamen farklı bir hale getirdi. Sözleşmedeki her satırı anladım, ödeme planını birkaç saatte netleştirdik. Israr eden kimse olmadı.
Bought a one-bedroom in JVC purely for yield. Before I picked Hillmont, the advisor walked me through five years of service-charge history for three different buildings in the cluster. I didn't expect that level of detail; it's why I went with them.
Komplette Fernabwicklung aus Berlin. Jedes Dokument lag vor dem Termin vor, die SPA-Beurkundung lief reibungslos, und die Übergabe haben sie für mich erledigt, während ich auf Mallorca war.
Я ценю команды, которые не звонят без причины. Отвечают, когда я пишу. Молчат, когда я молчу. Это редкое качество в этой отрасли.
أردتُ وحدة بإطلالة الملعب فقط، لا غير. ضيّقوا الخيارات في اجتماع واحد، وكنّا في DLD خلال ثلاثة أسابيع. خدمة احترافية بالعربية وبدون ضغط.
我没去现场，只通过一次视频电话就下了定金。让我下决心的，是顾问对 Six Senses 运营标准的熟悉程度——细节他都答得上来。
Three brokers had quoted me three different starting prices for the same line type. Dubai House Market sent me the developer's actual price sheet, with the line number circled. After that I stopped shopping around.
Buscaba una villa fuera del ruido. Me enseñaron Reserve la misma semana y firmamos a los dos meses. El acompañamiento en español hizo que todo fuera natural.
I emailed four agencies the same question on a Wednesday morning. By lunchtime, one had come back with the floor plan attached and an honest answer about service charges. Three weeks later I'd reserved.
Türkçe danışmanla çalışmak işin tamamen farklı bir hale getirdi. Sözleşmedeki her satırı anladım, ödeme planını birkaç saatte netleştirdik. Israr eden kimse olmadı.
Bought a one-bedroom in JVC purely for yield. Before I picked Hillmont, the advisor walked me through five years of service-charge history for three different buildings in the cluster. I didn't expect that level of detail; it's why I went with them.
Komplette Fernabwicklung aus Berlin. Jedes Dokument lag vor dem Termin vor, die SPA-Beurkundung lief reibungslos, und die Übergabe haben sie für mich erledigt, während ich auf Mallorca war.
Я ценю команды, которые не звонят без причины. Отвечают, когда я пишу. Молчат, когда я молчу. Это редкое качество в этой отрасли.
أردتُ وحدة بإطلالة الملعب فقط، لا غير. ضيّقوا الخيارات في اجتماع واحد، وكنّا في DLD خلال ثلاثة أسابيع. خدمة احترافية بالعربية وبدون ضغط.
我没去现场，只通过一次视频电话就下了定金。让我下决心的，是顾问对 Six Senses 运营标准的熟悉程度——细节他都答得上来。
Three brokers had quoted me three different starting prices for the same line type. Dubai House Market sent me the developer's actual price sheet, with the line number circled. After that I stopped shopping around.
Buscaba una villa fuera del ruido. Me enseñaron Reserve la misma semana y firmamos a los dos meses. El acompañamiento en español hizo que todo fuera natural.
اشتريتُ شقّتَين دفعةً واحدة. الفريق نسّق التوقيع عن بُعد وأنا في القاهرة خلال أربعة أيام. هذا النوع من الكفاءة ليس شائعاً.
First international purchase. They walked me through Golden Visa eligibility, the escrow protections, and even mortgage options I hadn't asked about. Nobody pushed for commission. Just answered what I asked.
Tre möten och en signering. Jag väntade mig friktion vid en internationell affär; det fanns nästan ingen.
مشورہ اردو میں، دستاویزات انگریزی میں، اور دونوں طرف مکمل وضاحت۔ مجھے بالکل اسی چیز کی ضرورت تھی۔
Comprato un appartamento sul canale per la mia famiglia, tutto da remoto da Milano. Il loro avvocato di fiducia ha rivisto il contratto in 48 ore e ci ha segnalato due punti che valeva la pena negoziare.
We needed City Walk specifically because family already lives in Jumeirah and we wanted to be on foot. The advisor mapped three options with the trade-offs laid out. Mercer made sense after we'd seen the comparison.
I'm in real estate in Sydney, so I'm hard to impress. The due-diligence material they sent unprompted — DLD permit verification, escrow trustee name, developer audit history going back to 2019 — wouldn't be standard practice here.
Από την Αθήνα στο Ντουμπάι χωρίς να σηκωθώ από το γραφείο μου. Επαγγελματική και ευγενική ομάδα, χωρίς υπερβολές.
اشتريتُ شقّتَين دفعةً واحدة. الفريق نسّق التوقيع عن بُعد وأنا في القاهرة خلال أربعة أيام. هذا النوع من الكفاءة ليس شائعاً.
First international purchase. They walked me through Golden Visa eligibility, the escrow protections, and even mortgage options I hadn't asked about. Nobody pushed for commission. Just answered what I asked.
Tre möten och en signering. Jag väntade mig friktion vid en internationell affär; det fanns nästan ingen.
مشورہ اردو میں، دستاویزات انگریزی میں، اور دونوں طرف مکمل وضاحت۔ مجھے بالکل اسی چیز کی ضرورت تھی۔
Comprato un appartamento sul canale per la mia famiglia, tutto da remoto da Milano. Il loro avvocato di fiducia ha rivisto il contratto in 48 ore e ci ha segnalato due punti che valeva la pena negoziare.
We needed City Walk specifically because family already lives in Jumeirah and we wanted to be on foot. The advisor mapped three options with the trade-offs laid out. Mercer made sense after we'd seen the comparison.
I'm in real estate in Sydney, so I'm hard to impress. The due-diligence material they sent unprompted — DLD permit verification, escrow trustee name, developer audit history going back to 2019 — wouldn't be standard practice here.
Από την Αθήνα στο Ντουμπάι χωρίς να σηκωθώ από το γραφείο μου. Επαγγελματική και ευγενική ομάδα, χωρίς υπερβολές.
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