Answered: 7 Common Questions About Dubai Real Estate

1. How Much Does it Really Cost to Buy an Apartment in Dubai?

Prices depend on the district and location — and property values are steadily rising across all areas. For example, one-bedroom apartments in the family-friendly JVC district that cost $170,000 a year ago are now selling for $230,000.

For personal residence, you should consider apartments starting from $250,000, and for rental investment — from $210,000.

In the city center — in areas like Business Bay and Dubai Marina — prices start from $8,000 per square meter, with complete apartments starting from $400,000.

2. What Taxes Exist in the UAE?

Most importantly — the country has no tax on rental income or property resale. Business tax is also low — 9% if the annual net profit exceeds $102,000.

Fun fact: Additionally, the UAE has no personal income tax. When purchasing goods and services, there is a 5% VAT — paid by the end consumer and charged at each stage of the supply chain.

3. How Much Do Broker Services Cost?

This depends on what type of property you're buying:

• When buying a property under construction (off-plan), the agent's services are free for you — their work is paid for by the developer.
• When buying completed real estate, the commission averages 2-3% of the property value, and this amount is often split between the seller and buyer

Mira Real Estate agents provide free consultations, conduct online meetings, and guide you through the entire transaction process. Contact us to learn more details. We frequently handle transactions online and always help clients gather all the information needed to make investment decisions.

4. How Much Can You Make from a Deal?

Let us share an example from our practice. About a year ago, one of Mira's clients purchased an apartment in the JVC area for $170,000, and today this property is valued at $210,000 — meaning the investment growth was 23% in one year.

What’s more, the purpose of the purchase was to rent out the apartment. This investor's rental yield is about 9-10% annually, taking into account service fees and maintenance costs. The investment payback period is less than 10 years.

5. How Does the Off-Plan Property Buying Process Work in Dubai?

Buying property in the UAE is extremely straightforward. The documents needed are:

• Passport
• Email address
• Physical address for receiving documents

This is sufficient for the agent to initiate the transaction. Further, when buying off-plan property, the process goes like this:

1. After selecting a property, the investor makes a reservation payment — usually around $10,000. This deposit is called an EOI (Expression of Interest). If you decide to purchase the apartment, this money will be counted towards the purchase price. If you change your mind — the amount is fully refundable.
2. Then comes the first payment — 10–20% of the property value plus a one-time 4% fee to the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
3. Next, the investor receives a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA) by email, confirming the right to purchase.
4. In 3-6 months, the investor receives another document, OQOOD — this is the ownership certificate for the property under construction.
5. All projects under construction can be purchased with an interest-free payment plan — the payment schedule can extend up to 7 years. At the end, after full payment for the completed property, the investor receives the Title Deed — the final legal ownership document.

6. What Happens if the Project Is Never Completed?

This hardly ever happens. Here's why — since 2008, the government has been protecting investors: every construction company must open an escrow account. This means that a state bank holds buyers' money and only transfers it to the developer after construction is completed.

If a developer cannot complete the project, the government opens a bidding process, and another construction company will take on the obligation to complete the project.

7. How Can You Make Money Buying Property in Dubai?

After purchasing a property, you have several options:

• Wait for construction to finish and rent out the apartment. Rental income ranges from 6-12% annually, depending on the area. You can rent out the apartment yourself or through a management company, such as Mira Holiday Homes.

• Profit from flipping. Flipping is when you buy older apartments on the secondary market below market price, renovate them, and then resell them. For flipping, investors choose properties that are cheaper than new builds in the same area. After high-quality renovation, they can be sold for a premium.

• Resell off-plan properties. In prestigious areas, prices often increase by 20% or more during construction. You can sell an apartment after paying 40% of the cost. For example, for apartments worth 2.5 million AED, you need to make two payments of 500 000 — totaling 1 million AED. If the price increases to 3 million AED, you'll receive 500 thousand AED in pure profit after selling.

Buy ready property. You'll start receiving rental income immediately after purchase.

Bottom line

In this article, we've answered 7 questions that our clients frequently ask. However, each investor finds themselves in a unique situation, so everyone has different questions. Mira Real Estate specialists will be happy to answer them. Submit an inquiry, and we will provide a free consultation where we'll explain in detail everything you want to know about investing in Dubai and other UAE cities.

Source:  https://youtu.be/iO-VmQ6yb20