Dubai market evidence

Off-Plan vs Ready Property in Marsa Dubai

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

Marsa Dubai — the numbers

Off-plan median

29,627 AED/sqm

43% of sampled sales

Ready (existing) median

14,607 AED/sqm

57% of sampled sales

Off-plan vs ready

+103%

Dubai overall: +65%

Sampled transactions

17,828

What the Marsa Dubai gap means

Across 17,828 sampled sales in Marsa Dubai, off-plan carries a median of 29,627 AED/sqm against 14,607 AED/sqm for ready stock — an off-plan median roughly 103% above ready units. Citywide the same comparison sits at +65%, so Marsa Dubai runs 38 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 Marsa Dubai 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 (43% 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 (57%) 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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