Off-plan 2026: the buyer’s checklist

The working floor is around $150,000 — a studio twenty minutes from the sea, no view and no room to negotiate. From roughly $300,000 the choice becomes comfortable. On top of the price of the unit, budget the Land Department registration fee of 4% and the annual service charge, which starts at about $9 per m² a year in the mid-market. Agency commission on a new-build purchase is paid by the developer, not by you; on the resale market it is 2%.

The first figure is the share you pay during construction, the second is what falls due at handover. Larger developers tend to be conservative — Emaar often runs 90/10 — while smaller ones advertise 20/80. The bigger the tail, the better the economics of reselling late in construction, because you have committed less of your own money. The same fact is the risk: that final tranche has to be funded, and if the money is not there at handover you are a forced seller. The last payment can be converted into a mortgage, but that has to be planned before signing, not a month before keys.

It lets you pay part of the price after you have the keys — usually over two or three years and rarely more than 30–40% of the total. Some developers stretch it to instalments of around one per cent a month and a total term near eight years. Two things follow. The unit can already be let, so rent covers part of what is outstanding. And at the point where the asset is worth more, less of your own capital is inside it, so the return on capital employed is higher than on a standard plan.

A finished interior — painted walls, flooring, sanitaryware and a fitted kitchen. In Dubai that is the norm, not an upgrade. Building amenities: pool, gym, barbecue areas, 24-hour security and concierge. Parking, from one bay upward depending on the scheme and the number of bedrooms. A smart-home system is common. Integrated appliances and full furniture packages are less common and have to be verified against the specification rather than the brochure. Private plunge pools on terraces have spread beyond the prime segment in the last few years.

Yes — assignment is a market of its own. First you have to reach the threshold written into the SPA, usually 30–40% paid. Then a No Objection Certificate is issued by the developer (around $1,400), an MOU is signed between you and the buyer, the buyer places a 10% deposit and the transfer is registered at a Trustee Centre. Agency commission is 2%, and a power of attorney for a remote transaction adds roughly $550. The incoming owner takes on both the remaining instalments and the service charge.

Branded residences; established districts where there is almost no land left to build on; genuine waterfront; a large recognisable developer; and mainstream formats — one- and two-bedroom apartments, three- and four-bedroom villas. Plus a favourable payment plan, since the less you have paid in, the higher the return on what you committed. The honest caveat: assignments take time, and if no buyer appears you keep paying the instalments regardless.

Freehold is outright ownership including the land: you can sell, let, alter and bequeath it, and it is the only form that supports a residency visa application. Dubai has more than fifty freehold districts. Leasehold is a long right of use, up to 99 years: cheaper to enter, but the land stays with the owner and resale, letting and alterations are limited by the lease. Freehold clusters also exist inside otherwise leasehold districts, so the question is answered by the specific project, not by the district name.

It is not developer insolvency — escrow accounts and regulatory requirements have largely dealt with that. The real risk is timing and exit. The building completes a year late, by which point three other schemes in the same district complete too, and your apartment competes on the resale market with a hundred near-identical units plus the developer’s own remaining stock at a discount. So look not only at your project but at what else hands over nearby in the same year.