Dubai Off-Plan vs Ready Calculator
Updated 24 August 2026 · Built by the Cresco Real Estate market team · Market figures from Dubai Land Department registered transactions, trailing three months.
Pick a community, enter the off-plan price and unit size, and this works out what you would really be paying compared with a finished apartment in the same area, after the payment plan, the fees, and the rent you give up while you wait for handover.
Adjust the assumptions
Service charge is the number buyers most often overlook and it varies a lot by building. The default shown is a typical figure for the community. If you know the actual rate for the tower you are looking at, enter it, because it changes the income side of this comparison materially.
A finished apartment earns rent from the month you buy it. An off-plan unit earns nothing until handover. That forgone rent is usually worth more than the payment plan saves you, which is why a headline discount on price per square foot can disappear entirely once the comparison is made properly.
Why the headline price per square foot misleads
Comparing an off-plan asking price directly against finished sales is the most common mistake in Dubai property analysis, and it cuts both ways. Four things sit between the two numbers.
| Factor | Effect | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Payment plan | Favours off-plan | You pay in instalments over the build period rather than all at once, so the money you have not yet handed over is still working for you. |
| Forgone rent | Favours finished | A completed apartment pays rent from day one. Over a two to three year build that is a substantial sum, and it is the factor most often left out. |
| Transaction costs | Slightly favours off-plan | Both attract the 4% DLD fee. A resale purchase usually carries agency commission on top; a direct developer purchase generally does not. |
| Building age | Favours off-plan | A brand new unit genuinely commands a premium over average-age stock, typically around 5%, but far less than most launch pricing assumes. |
This calculator converts both options into the same thing: total cost per square foot in today's money, over the same waiting period. Once that is done, the two numbers are directly comparable and the premium (or discount) is unambiguous.
Why only the last three months
A twelve-month average blends the most recent quarter together with the three that preceded it. If the market has changed direction, an annual figure will hide that change for months. In a market with a large delivery pipeline this matters a great deal: an off-plan price set a year ago was quoted against the market as it stood then, not as it stands when you sign.
Jumeirah Village Circle is the clearest current example. Finished apartments there have averaged AED 1,248 per square foot over the last three months. Over the last twelve months the figure is AED 1,519. Anyone using the annual number is measuring an off-plan launch against a market that is roughly 22% stronger than the one they would actually be buying into, and every comparison run that way flatters the off-plan.
The trade-off is sample size. Three months in a high-volume community gives plenty of sales, and JVC registered 1,190 finished-property sales in the window. In a smaller community it may not, and an average drawn from a handful of transactions is not a market price. Where the sample is too thin to rely on, this calculator says so rather than giving you a number.
Where these numbers come from
Every market figure in the calculator comes from sale and rental transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department, taken over the trailing three months and refreshed monthly. They are community-wide averages, not medians, and not asking prices. An asking price records what a seller hopes for; a registered transaction records what a buyer actually paid.
You can verify any of them yourself. The DLD publishes its transaction record through the open data portal at dubailand.gov.ae, and the major portals publish the same registered data filtered by community and by whether the property was finished or off-plan at the time of sale. The one filter that matters most is that last one. Leaving it on All mixes off-plan sales into the comparison set and defeats the entire purpose, and because off-plan currently transacts well above finished stock in most communities, it will quietly make any off-plan purchase look reasonable.
What counts as a fair premium?
Once the comparison is made like for like, a small premium is normal and defensible. Roughly speaking: within a few percent either way is fair value; up to about 12% is defensible if the building, developer or location genuinely justifies it; beyond that you are paying today for growth that has not happened yet, and the community has to deliver that growth before you are back to where you started.
The break-even test is the one worth dwelling on. If your all-in cost per square foot already exceeds what finished apartments in the same community sell for, the difference is not a bargain waiting to mature, it is a gap that has to close before the investment earns anything at all. Comparing the growth that gap requires against how the community has actually performed over the past quarter is usually the most revealing calculation on this page.
Frequently asked questions
- Is off-plan always more expensive than ready property in Dubai?
- No, but it usually carries a premium, and at the moment that premium is wide. In Jumeirah Village Circle, off-plan apartments have averaged AED 1,650 per square foot over the last three months against AED 1,248 for finished ones, a gap of about 32%. Part of any such gap reflects genuine differences: newer buildings, better locations, and the value of paying in instalments. Part of it reflects buyers comparing headline prices without adjusting for the rent they forgo while waiting. This calculator separates the two.
- Why does the calculator subtract rent from the finished property's cost?
- Because a completed apartment starts earning in the month you buy it, while an off-plan unit earns nothing until it is handed over. Over a thirty-month build that rent is real money, and leaving it out systematically flatters the off-plan option. The calculator credits the finished property with the net rent it would earn over the same waiting period, after service charges, management and voids.
- What discount rate should I use?
- The default of 5% approximates what capital can earn at low risk in the UAE. It represents the benefit of not having to pay the full price up front. A higher rate makes deferred payment more valuable and improves the case for off-plan; a lower rate does the opposite. If you would otherwise leave the money in a current account, use a lower figure.
- How much does the service charge really matter?
- More than most buyers expect. It is deducted from rent every year for as long as you own the property, so it reduces the income the finished option earns during the wait and the income the off-plan unit earns after handover. Rates vary widely by building, from around AED 10 per square foot in simpler mid-market towers to well over AED 30 in amenity-heavy ones. Always get the actual figure in writing for the specific building before you make an offer.
- Does this account for the risk that the project is delayed or not completed?
- No. It prices the deal on the assumption that handover happens on schedule. Delay risk, developer track record and escrow protection are separate matters and should be assessed on their own before you commit. A project priced fairly on these numbers can still be the wrong purchase if the developer has a history of overrunning.
Want the comparables checked before you commit?
Community averages tell you whether a price is broadly sensible. Matching a unit to the right comparables, same tower age, floor band and view, is what settles it. Our team will run that for any project you are considering.
Speak to a Cresco advisor →Disclaimer: This calculator provides indicative estimates based on figures you enter yourself and on community-wide averages derived from Dubai Land Department registered transactions over the trailing three months, together with published DLD fee rates current at the time of writing. It is not a valuation, an appraisal, or advice to buy or not to buy any property, and it does not assess or rate any specific development. A formal property valuation in Dubai may only be issued by a RERA-registered valuer. Community averages cover a wide range of buildings, ages, floors and views, and any individual unit may sit well above or below them. Actual costs vary by developer, bank, property and transaction structure. Figures are not financial, legal or tax advice. Confirm all figures against the official transaction record and speak to a licensed advisor before committing to a purchase.
Rates and rules verified 29 August 2026.
American readers weighing the same question can see these figures in dollars on Cresco Global: what Dubai property actually costs in USD, including the off plan premium on the same register basis.