Dubai property glossary
The terms behind the numbers on this site, defined the way we actually use them, with honest caveats where the industry usually skips them.
Gross rental yield
Annual rent divided by purchase price, before any costs. Dubai's market median across our 44 tracked areas is about 5.2% gross; service charges and management typically absorb 15 to 25% of the rent, so net yield lands meaningfully lower.
Net yield
Gross yield minus service charges, management fees, insurance and vacancy. A property at 6.5% gross with AED 15/ft² service charges can net closer to 4.5 to 5%.
AED per square foot (AED/ft²)
The standard unit for comparing Dubai prices across different unit sizes. Our medians are computed from registered transaction prices divided by registered areas, clamped to plausible bounds.
DLD
The Dubai Land Department, the government body where every property sale in Dubai must be registered. Its open-data platform is the source of all sales figures on this site.
Ejari
The mandatory registration system for Dubai tenancy contracts. New Ejari registrations are the source of all rent figures on this site.
Off-plan
Property bought before completion, usually with a payment plan of 10 to 20% down and staged instalments. Cheaper entry, longer wait, and handover risk you should price in.
Payment plan
The instalment schedule for off-plan purchases, often written like 70/30 (70% during construction, 30% at or after handover) or 1% monthly.
Handover
The date a project completes and units transfer to buyers. Registry estimates on this site come from the developer's declared completion date and can slip.
Oqood
Pre-registration of an off-plan sale with the DLD before title deed issuance. One reason transaction counts can include both a pre-registration and a final registration of the same unit.
Service charge
The annual fee per square foot owners pay for building upkeep, typically AED 10 to 25/ft² for apartments. The main gap between gross and net yield.
Liquidity
How many registered sales an area records. High liquidity means faster exits, better price discovery and more comparable evidence for valuations; we treat it as a first-class investment ingredient.
Golden Visa (property route)
A 10-year UAE residence visa available to buyers holding AED 2M or more of property. Several of our tracked areas offer 1 to 2 bedroom stock that crosses the threshold.
Freehold
Areas where foreign nationals can own property outright. All areas covered on this site are freehold zones.
Median
The middle value of a sorted list, which we prefer to averages because a handful of penthouse sales cannot drag it. Medians can still shift when the mix of what sells changes; we flag that wherever it bites.