Dubai market evidence
Off-Plan vs Ready Property in Business Bay
How off-plan and ready (existing) prices compare inside Business Bay in the historical DLD transaction record, and how that gap differs from Dubai as a whole.
The numbers for Business Bay
Off-plan median
28,199 AED/sqm
59% of sampled sales
Ready (existing) median
18,955 AED/sqm
41% of sampled sales
Off-plan vs ready
+49%
Dubai overall: +32%
Sampled transactions
11,522
What the Business Bay gap means
Across 11,522 sampled sales in Business Bay, off-plan carries a median of 28,199 AED/sqm against 18,955 AED/sqm for ready stock. That puts the off-plan median roughly 49% above ready units. Citywide the same comparison sits at +32%, so Business Bay runs 17 percentage points wider 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 Business Bay 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 (59% 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 (41%) is an existing unit that can be inspected and let immediately.
This is sales transaction evidence only and ends 2026-09-17. It is market reference, not valuation or investment advice.