How much a home in Dubai actually costs
Data updated to 23/10/2026
What it costs, by property type
These are prices actually paid and registered, not asking prices. For each type the figure shown is the one in the middle: half the sales sit below it, half above. I do not use the average, because a handful of penthouses worth tens of millions drags it upward and produces a figure nobody actually pays. Alongside it you will find the price per square metre, useful for comparing Dubai with a market you already know.
| Type | Typical price | Per sqm | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $188k | AED 18,840/m²≈ $5,130/m² | 40,900 |
| 1 bedroom | $340k | AED 17,690/m²≈ $4,820/m² | 56,168 |
| 2 bedrooms | $599k | AED 18,920/m²≈ $5,150/m² | 31,847 |
| 3 bedrooms | $973k | AED 20,920/m²≈ $5,700/m² | 11,698 |
| 4 bedrooms | $980k | AED 19,070/m²≈ $5,190/m² | 7,131 |
| 5 bedrooms | $1.3M | AED 19,060/m²≈ $5,190/m² | 1,960 |
Where the price changes
The same property type, a one-bedroom apartment, across eighteen areas. It is the cleanest comparison available, because it holds everything constant except location. Each area has at least three hundred sales in the period, so the median holds up.
| Area | Price, 1 bed | Per sqm | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Investments Park | $221k | AED 12,040/m²≈ $3,280/m² | 484 |
| Damac Hills | $274k | AED 13,570/m²≈ $3,690/m² | 971 |
| Dubai Production City | $291k | AED 14,050/m²≈ $3,830/m² | 1,350 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) | $300k | AED 15,330/m²≈ $4,170/m² | 5,752 |
| Dubailand (Wadi Al Safa 3) | $305k | AED 14,910/m²≈ $4,060/m² | 2,234 |
| Dubai South | $318k | AED 17,060/m²≈ $4,650/m² | 4,945 |
| Arjan | $323k | AED 16,570/m²≈ $4,510/m² | 1,400 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) | $335k | AED 17,400/m²≈ $4,740/m² | 1,846 |
| Al Furjan / Jebel Ali | $361k | AED 17,560/m²≈ $4,780/m² | 2,603 |
| MBR City – Sobha Hartland | $392k | AED 22,070/m²≈ $6,010/m² | 1,043 |
| Al Jaddaf | $394k | AED 20,920/m²≈ $5,700/m² | 1,059 |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) | $513k | AED 24,770/m²≈ $6,740/m² | 1,267 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | $533k | AED 28,000/m²≈ $7,630/m² | 1,645 |
| JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence) | $545k | AED 24,890/m²≈ $6,780/m² | 1,251 |
| Business Bay | $545k | AED 26,210/m²≈ $7,140/m² | 2,550 |
| Dubai Marina | $545k | AED 24,890/m²≈ $6,780/m² | 1,251 |
| Downtown Dubai | $599k | AED 27,440/m²≈ $7,470/m² | 762 |
| Dubai Islands | $635k | AED 29,760/m²≈ $8,100/m² | 2,021 |
Why "the average price in Dubai" means nothing
Three and four bedrooms cost almost the same
It looks like an error and it is not. Look at the per-square-metre column: four-bedroom homes cost less per square metre than three-bedroom ones. They are largely townhouses in the outer communities, while three-bedroom homes include apartments in central areas, where land is worth far more and weighs heavily on the final price. Being larger, though, the total lands in almost the same place. Anyone counting rooms and expecting each extra one to cost proportionally more is reading the wrong market.
Why some apartments cost twice as much in the same building
Because they carry a brand. Residences signed by a fashion house, a hotel group or a carmaker cost more per square metre, and not only for the name: the brand imposes specifications, finishes and services, and puts its own reputation on that project, which it does not do carelessly. On the rental and resale market they attract a different profile of tenant and buyer. They cost more and in most cases they appreciate more, but it is not a rule: if the brand is strong and the project is mediocre, you are paying for the name alone. That is a judgement to make project by project, not by category.
The same home is worth nearly triple a few kilometres away
A one-bedroom goes from just under two hundred thousand euros in the entry areas to more than half a million in those facing the water. This is not a gap in build quality: it is rental demand, accessibility and the prestige of the address. And it is why a single figure covering the whole city helps nobody decide anything.
What comes on top of the property price
The purchase price is not the cost of the transaction. These are the items published by the Dubai Land Department and the authorities, identical for every buyer: they belong in the calculation from the start, not discovered at completion.
DLD transfer fee
4% on the purchase price, payable when ownership transfers.
Registration and title deed
Issuing the title deed and the fees of the authorised registration trustee. These are fixed and modest amounts, in the order of a few thousand dirhams, independent of the property value.
Service charges
Paid annually and calculated per square foot, so they scale with floor area rather than price. Gym, pool and reception are the standard almost everywhere now: what pushes the figure up are the extras, spa, yoga studio, kids' area, barbecue spaces, sports courts, shared lounges. Worth asking for the number before you buy, because it comes back every year.
On resale
Buying from a private seller requires the developer's no objection certificate, the NOC, for the transfer. Unless agreed otherwise, it is normally the seller who covers it in order to sell the unit. The buyer's side is the 4% DLD fee and the agency commission.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum price to buy a home in Dubai?
Looking at registered sales, studios in the entry areas start in the region of a hundred and fifty thousand euros, and a one-bedroom in the most accessible area covered here has a median around two hundred thousand. Below those levels you will find something, but usually in positions or buildings that are hard to resell later: a low entry price only helps if the market is liquid enough to let you out.
Are these asking prices or prices actually paid?
Prices actually paid. They come from the Dubai Land Department transaction registry, where every sale is recorded. That is a substantial difference from the prices you see on listing portals, which are seller asking prices and can sit well above the value eventually agreed.
Why are prices in dirhams rather than euros?
Because dirhams is what you buy in. The page converts at the current rate, but the price you sign is in AED. The dirham has been pegged to the dollar for decades, so your real exposure is not to the dirham but to euro against dollar: that risk exists, and deserves as much thought as the price itself.
Is buying off-plan cheaper than buying ready?
Not necessarily cheaper per square metre, but it changes how you pay. Off-plan, the developer spreads the cost across a payment plan during construction, so the capital needed upfront is far lower. Ready stock, on the other hand, produces income from the first month. They are different tools, and the choice depends on whether you want income now or exposure to value later.
How often are these prices updated?
Daily. The Dubai Land Department registry publishes transactions with a lag of a couple of days and the site reads them automatically, recalculating the medians over a rolling twelve-month window. The date of the latest available data is at the top of the page.
Method: median registered price on residential sales (apartments and villas) over the last twelve months, from the Dubai Land Department transaction registry published on Dubai Pulse. Transactions below fifty thousand dirhams, land and commercial property are excluded. Conversion uses the day's exchange rate. Off-plan registrations occur one to three months after signing, so the most recent months fill in over time.
Prices move: follow them without coming back
These medians update daily. On Thursdays you get what moved, in which areas, and what it means if you are buying.
Looking for a villa? There's a dedicated guide: Villas in Dubai: real prices and appreciation from the registry, with deeds community by community and 2017-2026 growth.
What you actually need, for your objective
A median answers the general question. The questionnaire lines up budget, horizon and objective, and tells you what is within reach, area by area.