Yield, entry and the date you can leave. We closed AED 1.5B+ by selling units that rent or that a client will actually use — not a spreadsheet that ignores service charge and void months.
How we build an investment shortlist
- Hold period, currency you think in, occupy vs let.
- A real rent (today’s ask, not last winter) and the service-charge statement.
- Off-plan only if the escrow is clean and you can wait for keys.
- Net yield on the page: rent minus charges minus a void buffer.
- An exit that does not require the next buyer to pay 2024’s peak.
The published yield — and the net
Cavendish Maxwell’s 2026 notes put gross apartment yields near 7% and villas near 5% (Property Monitor). That is why the city stays on international screens. The number we will put our name on is net of service charge and a void. If the yield only works before the statement, it does not work.
Off-plan as an investment
About three in four Dubai sales in August 2026 were off-plan (Cavendish Maxwell). That is liquidity for developers. For you it is calendar risk. We buy off-plan when the plan matches cash you already have — not rent you hope to collect in 2028.
Ready as an investment
A Downtown or Marina one-bed that lets is still a file. Prime apartment rents cooled in Q2 2026 on Cushman & Wakefield Core’s snapshot. Buy the stack that a tenant will take at today’s rent, or do not buy it as yield.
Questions we get
What is the average rental yield in Dubai?+
Cavendish Maxwell’s Q1 2026 report: about 7.2% gross on apartments and 5.0% on villas and townhouses. Net is lower once service charge and voids are in.
Is Dubai property a good investment in 2026?+
It can be if the unit lets or you will use it, and the price still works after DLD 4%. August 2026 was the first year-on-year average price decline since 2021 — a cooler tape, not a closed market.
Do you charge for investment advice?+
We are a brokerage. The fee is the mandated commission on a purchase, written. There is no separate ‘strategy retainer’ to hear a community name.