Dubai market evidence
Off-Plan vs Ready Property in World Islands
How off-plan and ready (existing) prices compare inside World Islands in the historical DLD transaction record, and how that gap differs from Dubai as a whole.
The numbers for World Islands
Off-plan median
39,887 AED/sqm
84% of sampled sales
Ready (existing) median
32,666 AED/sqm
16% of sampled sales
Off-plan vs ready
+22%
Dubai overall: +33%
Sampled transactions
138
What the World Islands gap means
Across 138 sampled sales in World Islands, off-plan carries a median of 39,887 AED/sqm against 32,666 AED/sqm for ready stock. That puts the off-plan median roughly 22% above ready units. Citywide the same comparison sits at +33%, so World Islands runs 11 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 World Islands 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 (84% 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 (16%) is an existing unit that can be inspected and let immediately.
This is sales transaction evidence only and ends 2026-08-13. It is market reference, not valuation or investment advice.