Dubai market evidence

Off-Plan vs Ready Property in Island 2

How off-plan and ready (existing) prices compare inside Island 2 in the historical DLD transaction record — and how that gap differs from Dubai as a whole.

Island 2 — the numbers

Off-plan median

27,839 AED/sqm

24% of sampled sales

Ready (existing) median

38,860 AED/sqm

76% of sampled sales

Off-plan vs ready

-28%

Dubai overall: +65%

Sampled transactions

251

What the Island 2 gap means

Across 251 sampled sales in Island 2, off-plan carries a median of 27,839 AED/sqm against 38,860 AED/sqm for ready stock — an off-plan median roughly 28% below ready units. Citywide the same comparison sits at +65%, so Island 2 runs 93 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 Island 2 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 (24% 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 (76%) 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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