Dubai market evidence

Off-Plan vs Ready Property in Al Wasl

How off-plan and ready (existing) prices compare inside Al Wasl in the historical DLD transaction record — and how that gap differs from Dubai as a whole.

Al Wasl — the numbers

Off-plan median

22,383 AED/sqm

82% of sampled sales

Ready (existing) median

18,616 AED/sqm

18% of sampled sales

Off-plan vs ready

+20%

Dubai overall: +65%

Sampled transactions

3,101

What the Al Wasl gap means

Across 3,101 sampled sales in Al Wasl, off-plan carries a median of 22,383 AED/sqm against 18,616 AED/sqm for ready stock — an off-plan median roughly 20% above ready units. Citywide the same comparison sits at +65%, so Al Wasl runs 45 percentage points narrower than Dubai overall.

Comparing within a single area removes most of the location mix effect that distorts the citywide figure, but not all of it: off-plan launches inside Al Wasl may still skew toward newer towers or larger layouts than the resale stock they are measured against. Narrow further by unit type before treating this as a like-for-like premium.

Off-plan (82% of sampled transactions here) is bought from a developer before or during construction, typically on a payment plan, carrying handover and delivery risk. Ready property (18%) is an existing unit that can be inspected and let immediately.

This is sales transaction evidence only and ends 2023-03-17. It is market reference, not valuation or investment advice.

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