−46% Photo of the community Tilal Al Ghaf
Majid Al Futtaim’s lagoon community: lower density, higher specification, and the best-executed of the water-based villa districts.
30 units in stock. 28 with a confirmed status: 21 ready, 7 under construction. 18th most expensive of 91 districts by median price.
- well-executed lagoon living
- families
- long-term capital performance
Median price $2.76M AED 10,150,000
Entry price $980K AED 3,600,000 — cheapest unit
Per square foot $601 AED 2,207 / sq ft, median
Ready stock 75% 27 units discounted, up to −46%
Community factsheet
- Developer Majid Al Futtaim
- District DubaiLand
Specifications per Propsearch. They describe the whole community, not a single building.
What this area is actually like
What Tilal Al Ghaf is
Tilal Al Ghaf is a master-planned villa and townhouse community developed by Majid Al Futtaim, built around Lagoon Al Ghaf — a large swimmable lagoon with sand beaches — off Hessa Street on the inland side of the city.
Majid Al Futtaim is best known as the developer and operator behind Mall of the Emirates and City Centre malls, and it brings a hospitality-oriented approach to community development that shows in the execution here.
Density is lower than in the neighbouring Damac communities, landscaping is more generous, and the finish standard is a clear step up.
Why the execution matters
Dubai has several lagoon communities now, and they are not equivalent. Tilal Al Ghaf’s lagoon is larger, the beaches are properly built, and the amenity around the water — restaurants, sports facilities, walking and cycling routes — is delivered rather than promised.
The community also has real placemaking: a central spine with retail and dining that functions as a place people go rather than a strip of empty units waiting for tenants.
That difference in execution is reflected in pricing, which sits above the Damac communities nearby, and in resale performance, which has been stronger.
The product
A range from townhouses through to large detached villas, with the higher tiers — Harmony, Elysian, Alaya — occupying the premium plots near the lagoon.
Lagoon frontage carries a substantial premium and is the most sought-after product in the community. Internal plots are considerably cheaper.
Specification and build quality are good by Dubai standards, and the community management has been competent, which over a long hold is a significant part of the return.
Location and access
Off Hessa Street, roughly twenty-five to thirty-five minutes to Downtown and Marina depending on traffic. No metro.
It is closer in than Damac Hills 2 or The Valley and further out than Dubai Hills or Meydan — a middle position on the commute spectrum.
Schools exist in and near the community, and the wider inland school cluster around Dubai Hills and Al Barsha South is within a reasonable drive.
What to check
The plot position relative to the lagoon and the amenity spine, which is the main price driver.
The completion status of the phases around you — parts of the masterplan are still being delivered.
The community service charge, which reflects the lagoon and landscaping maintenance and is not at the bottom of the market.
Garden orientation and afternoon sun, which in a villa is a large part of usability.
The investment view
Tilal Al Ghaf is a quality play within the inland villa market. Prices are above the Damac communities and the product justifies it; resale has performed accordingly.
Yields are moderate — this is not a high-yield district — and the argument is capital performance plus a genuinely good place to live.
It suits a family that wants lagoon living with proper execution and is willing to pay for it, and a long-term investor who prefers a well-run community over a cheap one. It suits poorly a yield-maximiser.
The tiers within the community
Tilal Al Ghaf is layered rather than uniform. Harmony and Aura sit at the accessible end as townhouses and smaller villas. Elysian Mansions and Alaea occupy the premium tier with large detached houses on the best plots, several of them directly on the lagoon.
Those tiers behave like different markets. The townhouse product competes with Damac Lagoons and the Dubailand corridor on price; the mansion product competes with Dubai Hills golf villas and District One.
A single price-per-square-foot figure for the community therefore means very little. Establish the sub-community first.
The lagoon frontage runs through all tiers and is the most consistent price driver: waterfront plots command a substantial premium in every band and have held it on resale.
What Majid Al Futtaim brings
MAF is not primarily a residential developer — it built and operates Mall of the Emirates, the City Centre malls and a large hospitality portfolio — and that operating background shows in how this community was executed.
The lagoon has proper filtration and a real beach rather than a decorative water feature. The retail spine was leased and tenanted rather than left as empty shells. The landscaping was specified to survive rather than to photograph well at handover.
That is the difference buyers are paying for against the neighbouring lagoon communities, and it has been reflected in both rent and resale performance.
It also means the community charge is meaningful. Operating a swimmable lagoon and a maintained beach costs money, and the charge here sits above the inland average for a reason.
The commute and the competition
Off Hessa Street, twenty-five to thirty-five minutes to Downtown and Marina depending on the hour, with no metro. That places Tilal Al Ghaf in the middle band — closer than The Valley and Damac Hills 2, further than Dubai Hills and Meydan.
The direct competition is Damac Lagoons next door, which offers more space per dirham and a similar lagoon concept at a lower standard of execution, and Dubai Hills, which offers a better location and schools at a higher price.
Tilal Al Ghaf occupies the gap between them, and whether it is the right answer depends on whether you value execution over space or location.
For families who intend to live in the community rather than let it, it has consistently been the strongest of the three on resident satisfaction — which over a ten-year hold is what actually determines whether you were right.
More on Tilal Al Ghaf
Written breakdowns of subjects the English channel has not filmed.
- Tilal Al Ghaf: what a mall operator builds when it builds houses
The best-executed of the Dubai lagoon communities, built by Majid Al Futtaim off Hessa Street. Why the execution difference is visible in the service charge, and why one price per square foot for the community means nothing.
The market, per the Land Department
Residential price index 167.33 Q4 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 Tilal Al Ghaf: 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 15/08/2026.
The latest read: July 2026
The Land Department index above is quarterly and emirate-wide. The monthly price index splits villas from apartments — and in 2026 that matters: a single blended figure hides the fact that the two markets have pulled apart.
Villas and townhouses 292.5 flat YoY
Apartments 168.7 −4.2% YoY
All residential 219.2 −0.3% MoM
Price per sqft 2,039 villas · apartments 1,397 AED
The month split by completion status: 72.8% of deals were off-plan, 27.2% ready homes. Ready-home volume rose 11.4% on the month, while off-plan was the only segment down both on the month and on the year (−45.3%). The practical read: there is room to negotiate on apartments and on off-plan, far less on finished villas in established communities. Index base is January 2021 = 100 — a villa reading of 292.5 means growth of 192.5% from that mark, not a premium over a 2021 peak. Monthly ValuStrat market review for July 2026, checked 24/08/2026.
Questions about Tilal Al Ghaf
Who developed Tilal Al Ghaf?
Majid Al Futtaim, the group behind Mall of the Emirates and the City Centre malls. Its hospitality background shows in the execution — larger lagoon, properly built beaches, and delivered rather than promised amenity.
How does Tilal Al Ghaf compare to Damac Lagoons?
Lower density, higher specification, better-executed amenity and stronger community management, at a higher price. Damac Lagoons offers more space per dirham; Tilal Al Ghaf has performed better on resale.
Other districts
All districts →Projects in Tilal Al Ghaf
All projects in Tilal Al Ghaf →
Tilal Al Ghaf in the news
Elysian Mansions, Tilal Al Ghaf: Dubai lagoon mansions three years after launch
Elysian Mansions is a gated enclave of 94 five- and six-bedroom mansions on the Tilal Al Ghaf lagoon by Majid Al Futtaim. Launched in 2023 from about AED 18.5m, resale listings now run from AED 22m to 55m, and handover has slipped from late 2025 to late 2026.
Lanai Islands: 13 villas on a private island inside Tilal Al Ghaf
Architecture by SAOTA, interiors by Kelly Hoppen, up to seven bedrooms. Why building around water rather than a golf course changes what the product is — and why thirteen houses rather than three hundred.
Majid Al Futtaim: a retail group that builds communities around its own malls
The owner of Mall of the Emirates and a large regional retail business, with a property arm building master-planned communities. What an anchor tenant that owns itself changes for a resident.
Looking at Tilal Al Ghaf 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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