The Valley: what it is like to live in the first phase of a community

In a community built in phases, the first residents move into a finished house in the middle of a construction site. That is a normal stage, but it lasts for years, and it is better pictured before the deal than after the move.

What daily life in the first phase consists of

• Construction traffic. Tippers and concrete mixers use the same streets as you, and in the mornings you notice it.
• Dust. In a desert climate open sites produce it constantly; filters, air conditioners and cleaning wear out faster.
• Noise on the builders’ schedule, not yours.
• Temporary access roads. Roads are completed along with the phases, and the way out may change from year to year.
• No amenities yet. The shop and the school open when there are enough residents, not when a phase is handed over.
• Few neighbours. A half-empty community means quiet evenings and a feeling some people like and others do not.

What you get in return

• The launch price — which is the compensation for the years of waiting.
• Choice of position. The best plots — corners, by the park, overlooking the green corridors — go in the first phases.
• An earlier entry point into a community that, if the plan comes true, will be worth more later.

What to find out before buying

• How many phases are still to come and where they are relative to your house: a site behind your fence and a site a block away are different things.
• The developer’s schedule and how it has been kept in the phases already handed over.
• Where the permanent entrance will be and when it will be built.
• Which everyday amenities open first and at what level of occupancy.
• How the community charge is calculated during construction: whether you pay for the upkeep of the whole district or only the built part.

Who it suits

• Buyers with a long horizon who are prepared to live next to a building site for several years for the sake of position and price.
• Not those who plan to let straight away: in an unfinished community, tenants choose the neighbouring one where everything already works.

Based on Dubai Land Department registry data and the community’s published phasing plan.