−16% The World Islands
The offshore archipelago shaped like a world map: mostly still sand, with a small number of developed islands.
5 units in stock. 5 with a confirmed status: 3 ready, 2 under construction. 59th most expensive of 67 districts by median price.
- unique offshore property
- discretionary lifestyle purchases
Median price $381K AED 1,400,000
Entry price $278K AED 1,020,000 — cheapest unit
Per square foot $1,893 AED 6,953 / sq ft, median
Ready stock 60% 3 units discounted, up to −16%
What this area is actually like
What The World is
The World Islands is an offshore archipelago of around three hundred reclaimed islands arranged in the shape of a world map, four kilometres off the Jumeirah coast, built by Nakheel in the mid-2000s.
Land reclamation was completed but the financial crisis halted almost all development on the islands. For more than a decade the archipelago sat largely as empty sand.
Development has since resumed selectively, with a handful of islands developed as resorts and private estates — the Heart of Europe project being the most substantial.
The Heart of Europe
The Heart of Europe is a multi-island resort development by Kleindienst comprising themed islands — Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Main Europe and Saint Petersburg — with hotels, floating villas and beach residences.
Delivery has been protracted and phased over many years, with parts operating and parts still under construction.
It is the only large-scale development on the archipelago and effectively defines what buying on The World means today.
What owning here actually involves
Access is by boat or seaplane. There is no bridge and none planned, which means every trip to and from the mainland is a scheduled marine transfer.
That single fact governs everything: it limits daily living, it limits the tenant and guest market to people willing to make the crossing, and it makes routine maintenance and servicing expensive.
Utilities, waste, water and power on an offshore island are all more complex and more costly than on the mainland, and the service charge reflects that.
The honest risk assessment
This is the most speculative residential proposition in Dubai. The archipelago has a fifteen-year history of stalled development, the buyer pool is tiny, comparable transactions are almost non-existent, and resale is genuinely difficult.
Against that: it is unique, it cannot be replicated, and a completed and operating resort island is a genuinely remarkable asset.
Anyone considering this should treat it as a discretionary lifestyle purchase with a real possibility of illiquidity, not as an investment with a modelled return.
What to verify
The developer’s delivery record on the specific phase, and what is actually operating today versus what is planned.
The escrow arrangement and the Dubai Land Department registration.
Marine transfer arrangements: frequency, cost, who operates them, and what happens in poor weather.
The service charge in full, including marine transport, utilities and infrastructure maintenance.
The resale history, such as it is, and how long units have taken to sell.
Who it suits
A buyer for whom this is a discretionary purchase, who wants something genuinely unique, and who is financially indifferent to whether it can be resold.
It suits poorly essentially everyone else, and it should never be a first Dubai property purchase or a material share of anyone’s portfolio.
Available now in The World Islands
5 units −16% −16% 
−7% The market, per the Land Department
Residential price index 167.33 IV квартал 2025
Quarter on quarter +3.32% QoQ
Year on year +8.9% YoY
Full year 2025 +9.81% index 162.51
This is the official index for the whole emirate, not for The World Islands: the Dubai Land Department does not publish a district breakdown publicly. Treat it as background — it tells you whether the market is rising or flat while you read the prices above. Transaction data for a specific building I pull separately, on request. Source: Dubai Land Department, read 07/08/2026.
Questions about The World Islands
Can you actually live on The World Islands?
On the developed islands, yes, but access is by boat or seaplane only — there is no bridge and none planned. That governs daily life, servicing costs and the size of the tenant and guest market.
Is The World Islands a good investment?
It is the most speculative residential proposition in Dubai: a fifteen-year history of stalled development, a tiny buyer pool, almost no comparable transactions and difficult resale. Treat it as a discretionary lifestyle purchase, not as an investment.
Other districts
All districts →Looking at The World Islands specifically?
Send me the building or the unit and I will pull the registered transaction history, the current service charge and what comparable units actually let for — before you make an offer, not after.
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