Property for sale in Dubai

The Dubai Land Department takes 4% of the purchase price to transfer the title, and the buyer pays it. Add the title deed fee, the trustee-office charge and a conventional 2% agency commission (2.1% with the 5% VAT on it), and the cost of buying lands a little over 6% above the price on the listing — worth knowing before you decide what you can spend, because none of it can be borrowed.

After the sale, the recurring cost is the service charge: a per-square-foot annual sum set by the building’s owners association, which pays for the pool, the lifts, the security and the chilled water. It varies enormously between buildings — two apartments at the same price in the same community can return quite different income, and this is usually why. If you are buying to let, the rental yield calculator on this site puts the number in front of you.

Foreign nationals can own freehold in the designated areas, which covers most of what people think of as modern Dubai — the Marina, Downtown, the Palm, Dubai Hills, JVC and the rest. Elsewhere ownership is leasehold or restricted. A cash purchase can complete in a few weeks; a mortgage adds a valuation and a lender’s timetable, and buying from abroad through a power of attorney is routine.