Buyers ask which Dubai metro stations sit next to the expensive homes. The Dubai Land Department register can answer part of that question. It carries a nearest metro label on each transaction. For August 2026 that label appears on 4,416 of the 10,123 apartment sales, or 43.6 percent.
We ranked every station catchment with at least 50 apartment sales in the month. That leaves 17 catchments covering 4,049 sales. The spread between the top and the bottom is 3.08 times.
The ranking
| Nearest station label | Sales | Median AED per sq ft | Median price | Median size (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Marina | 74 | 3,018 | AED 2,499,548 | 823 |
| Creek Metro Station | 276 | 2,533 | AED 1,868,944 | 771 |
| Palm Jumeirah | 54 | 2,226 | AED 3,340,000 | 1,533 |
| Business Bay Metro Station | 360 | 2,135 | AED 1,768,106 | 901 |
| Buj Khalifa Dubai Mall Metro Station | 384 | 1,999 | AED 1,921,374 | 895 |
| Al Jadaf Metro Station | 89 | 1,931 | AED 1,457,860 | 736 |
| First Abu Dhabi Bank Metro Station | 147 | 1,848 | AED 1,343,000 | 824 |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | 122 | 1,732 | AED 1,627,003 | 1,009 |
| UAE Exchange Metro Station | 382 | 1,611 | AED 722,276 | 450 |
| ENERGY Metro Station | 80 | 1,531 | AED 966,738 | 636 |
| Dubai Internet City | 741 | 1,497 | AED 1,042,200 | 762 |
| Sharaf Dg Metro Station | 217 | 1,440 | AED 975,000 | 672 |
| Damac Properties | 286 | 1,429 | AED 900,000 | 652 |
| Nakheel Metro Station | 407 | 1,428 | AED 998,620 | 725 |
| Ibn Battuta Metro Station | 85 | 1,258 | AED 1,402,800 | 1,083 |
| Harbour Tower | 109 | 1,073 | AED 875,000 | 862 |
| Rashidiya Metro Station | 236 | 980 | AED 600,000 | 732 |
What the top of the table is telling you
Dubai Marina tops the list at AED 3,018 per square foot across 74 sales. Creek Metro Station follows at AED 2,533 across 276 sales. Creek is the more interesting number. It is not a legacy prime address. It is Dubai Creek Harbour selling new stock at close to marina pricing.
Palm Jumeirah sits third on price per square foot at AED 2,226 but first on ticket size. The median home there sold for AED 3,340,000 at 1,533 square feet. High rate and large floor plate is what prime looks like in this file.
Business Bay and the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall catchment are the volume end of the expensive half. Business Bay ran at AED 2,135 per square foot across 360 sales. The Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall label ran at AED 1,999 across 384 sales. Between them they carried 744 of the 4,416 labelled sales in the month.
Price per square foot and price are not the same thing
Two catchments make the point.
| Station label | Median AED per sq ft | Median price | Median size (sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UAE Exchange Metro Station | 1,611 | AED 722,276 | 450 |
| Ibn Battuta Metro Station | 1,258 | AED 1,402,800 | 1,083 |
UAE Exchange sits ninth on rate at AED 1,611 per square foot. The median home there still sold for only AED 722,276 because the median size is 450 square feet. Ibn Battuta sits fifteenth on rate at AED 1,258 per square foot and the median home cost more, at AED 1,402,800, because buyers were getting 1,083 square feet. If you are budgeting a purchase, the rate is the wrong number to start from.
The bottom of the table
Rashidiya closes the ranking at AED 980 per square foot across 236 sales, with a median price of AED 600,000. Harbour Tower sits just above it at AED 1,073. These are the two catchments where an end user buying to live in still gets a full size home under AED 1,000,000.
The trap in this data
A station label is not a proximity measurement. Here is the check that matters. Sales carrying a station label had a median of AED 1,644 per square foot. Sales with no station label had a median of AED 1,715. The labelled set is very slightly cheaper, not more expensive.
So this table does not show a metro premium and we are not claiming one. It shows how much apartments cost in the districts the Land Department chose to tag with a given station. That is still useful. It is not the same claim.
Method and limits
- Source. The Dubai Land Department transaction register for 1 August 2026 to 31 August 2026, 15,955 rows. We used the 10,123 rows that are sales of a unit. Land and whole buildings are excluded.
- Vintage. The copy used here was downloaded on 2 September 2026. On 20 September 2026 we could not reach the Dubai Land Department open data portal from this environment to check for a later file.
- Coverage. The nearest metro field is blank on 5,707 of the 10,123 apartment sales. The ranking therefore describes 4,416 labelled sales, not the whole market.
- The label is the Land Department’s, not ours. Some labels are not Red Line or Green Line metro stations. Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah are tram and monorail stops. Several others carry commercial naming rights. We reproduced the labels exactly as the file spells them, including the spelling of Buj Khalifa Dubai Mall Metro Station.
- No distance. The register gives a nearest station name. It gives no metres and no walking time. A home tagged to a station can be a long walk from it.
- Threshold. Catchments with fewer than 50 apartment sales in the month were dropped. 17 labels remained out of 35 that appear in the file.
- How the rate is computed. Price per square foot is calculated for each transaction and then the median of those is taken. It is not total value divided by total area. Square metres were converted at 10.7639 square feet per square metre.
- Mixed stock. Off plan and ready sales sit in the same medians. Off plan pricing reflects a payment plan and a future handover. Ready pricing does not.
- One month. August 2026 only. A catchment with 54 sales can move a long way on a quiet month.
Frequently asked questions
Which Dubai metro station has the most expensive apartments?
Among station catchments with at least 50 apartment sales in August 2026, the Dubai Marina label had the highest median price per square foot at AED 3,018. Creek Metro Station was second at AED 2,533.
Which Dubai metro station has the cheapest apartments?
Rashidiya Metro Station had the lowest median in the same set at AED 980 per square foot across 236 sales. The median home there sold for AED 600,000.
How much more expensive is a home near a central Dubai station?
The spread between the top and bottom station catchment in August 2026 was 3.08 times on median price per square foot. That is AED 3,018 against AED 980.
Does the Dubai Land Department record distance to a metro station?
No. The register carries a nearest metro label only. It does not record metres or walking time. It also leaves the field blank on 5,707 of the 10,123 apartment sales in August 2026.
Do homes near a metro station cost more in Dubai?
This file cannot answer that. Labelled sales had a median of AED 1,644 per square foot and unlabelled sales had AED 1,715. The labelled set is not more expensive overall. Station labels track which districts are covered, not a proximity premium.