Intelligence on the Dubai market, discreetly.
Analysis, data and readings from the Emirati property market, written by someone who lives it daily. No sales push, no artificial urgency.
The payment plan, read properly: the number they show you, and the ones they don't
The brochure shows one clean number. The contract hides the rest: a 4% DLD fee, the 2025 cash rule, the service charge. How to read the plan before you sign.
Where the yield holds: why gross return flatters, and what to look at instead
Gross yield flatters. Business Bay: 7-9% gross, 3.8-5.3% net. Where the return actually holds, and the three tests to run before you buy.
The market is handing over: what the second quarter's wave of keys is telling you
In Q2 Dubai handed over ~27,300 homes while launches fell to 5,335. The market is maturing, and for buyers that opens a window: more choice, more time.
Dubai, H1 2026: the second-strongest first half on record.
AED 286 billion, 86,000 deals, luxury at an all-time high with 296 transactions above $10 million. The market has already answered "is it still going up?". The question worth asking now is where capital is moving, and what that tells anyone who wants to buy well today.
Emaar's new Dubai city: AED 200 billion, and the question that actually matters.
On 11 June Emaar announced a city within a city: 150,000 residents, 4.5 million square metres. The value mechanism on every major Emaar launch has been the same for fifteen years: the pricing window opens at announcement and closes when construction starts. Worth understanding before deciding how to position.
Dubai Flexi Rent: it looks like a tenant benefit, it works for property owners.
From 23 June the DLD allows rent to be paid in installments. The annual total doesn't change. But an installment tenant tends to stay longer, and one vacant month out of twelve costs much more than the nominal 8% it appears to be. The landlord's calculation looks different from how it is usually framed.
Abu Dhabi Is Changing Shape. The $1.7 Billion Sphere Explains Why.
A $1.7bn Sphere on Yas Island, AED 142bn in 2025 deals, ~7% yields and the truth about the Sobha numbers. Abu Dhabi changed structure, not just figures.
Jebel Ali Downtown: the first interesting investment cycle of 2026
Jebel Ali Downtown in 2026: Imtiaz enters with AED 2bn, RAW District from AED 649K. A real price window, or misplaced hype? The three filters to decide.
Where to invest now: Downtown Dubai, Dubai Islands or Jebel Ali
Downtown Dubai, Dubai Islands or Jebel Ali: an honest comparison of prices, yields and risk profiles for the 2026 Dubai investor.
April 2026: the investor visa changed the rules. What it means for you.
The UAE removed the AED 750,000 (about $204,000) minimum from the two-year investor visa. Three investor profiles, one question that truly matters, and the most common mistake of these weeks.
Q1 2026: Dubai's numbers are record-breaking. And there's a window few are noticing.
AED 252 billion (about $68.6 billion) in Q1 transactions, +31% year on year. Why regional tensions are pushing up the price of the next launches, and where the window is for those entering now.
Off-plan at 73%: why it works, and the 4 mistakes I see most often.
3 in 4 residential transactions in Dubai are off-plan, but the problem isn't the product, it's how you choose it. The rendering, the developer, and the exit question almost no one asks.