For five years, buying in Dubai meant paying whatever the market asked and being grateful for an allocation.

That is not the market in front of you today. In the third quarter of 2026, residential transaction volumes were down 38% on a year earlier, average sale prices were about 1% lower than a year ago, and some developers were reported to be offering discounts of up to 50%.

Meanwhile the top of the market kept climbing: prime apartments were 4.0% higher year on year and prime villas 3.6% higher.

A market where volumes fall while the best addresses hold their value is not a market in trouble. It is a market where a prepared buyer finally has leverage — and I have been waiting a long time to say that about Dubai.

Why Dubai Is Now on Our List

We added Dubai to our markets this year because clients kept asking for the same three things: dollar exposure, no tax on rental income, and a residence permit that does not require them to move their life.

Dubai is one of very few places that offers all three at once.

The Tax Position, Stated Plainly

The UAE levies no personal income tax. There is no annual property tax and no capital gains tax on individuals. Rental income earned by an individual holding property without a commercial licence sits outside UAE corporate tax, which applies only where business turnover exceeds AED 1 million a year.

Residential resale is exempt from VAT. The first sale of a new residential building within three years of completion is zero-rated, so an end-buyer of new stock is not charged the 5% that applies to commercial property.

One caveat I give every client, and it matters more than anything above: this is the UAE side only. If you are tax resident in Brazil, Spain, Portugal, France or the United States, you remain taxable at home on your worldwide income and gains. Dubai's zero-tax position does not travel with you. Plan both sides before you buy.

Residency Just Got Dramatically Easier

This is the change almost nobody outside the market has registered.

Until April 2026, a two-year investor residence visa required a property worth at least AED 750,000. That minimum has been removed for sole owners. If you own a Dubai property outright, whatever its value, you can apply. Joint owners each need a share of at least AED 400,000.

The ten-year Golden Residence still sits at AED 2 million in property, held across one or several properties — and, importantly, a mortgaged property now qualifies, with a no-objection letter from your bank. Older guidance saying the property had to be fully paid is out of date.

One wrinkle to be aware of: the federal portal still shows five years for the real estate route while Dubai Land Department and GDRFA Dubai both publish ten. Confirm your own case with DLD or GDRFA rather than with a brochure.

What It Actually Costs to Buy

The headline number is the Dubai Land Department registration fee: 2% from the seller and 2% from the buyer, though market custom is that the buyer carries the whole 4%.

Add a registration trustee fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT on transactions of AED 500,000 or more, a title deed fee of AED 250, agency commission of around 2%, and a developer NOC that typically runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dirhams, usually paid by the seller. If you are borrowing, mortgage registration is 0.25% of the loan.

The change that catches financed buyers: since February 2025, UAE banks can no longer roll the DLD fee and broker commission into the mortgage. You need roughly 6% of the purchase price in cash on top of your deposit. More foreign purchases stall on this than on anything else.

Annual service charges vary enormously by building, and the reliable figures are not in any brochure — Dubai Land Department publishes a service charge index through its Mollak system, and that is where to check the specific tower before you commit.

Where Foreigners Can Buy

Foreign buyers can own freehold in designated areas, or take leasehold for up to 99 years. Freehold is set plot by plot under Regulation No. 3 of 2006, and Dubai keeps widening it — owners along Sheikh Zayed Road and in Al Jaddaf can now convert to freehold, open to all nationalities.

Because the designated list has been extended repeatedly, do not trust a list you read in a blog post, including this one. Check the specific plot with DLD before you sign.

Buying Off-Plan Without Losing Sleep

Dubai's off-plan protections are genuinely good, and they are worth understanding because this is where the discounts are.

Every dirham you pay for an off-plan unit goes into a project escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007, audited and monitored by RERA. The project itself must be registered before a developer can sell. Your purchase must be entered in the interim register — Oqood — within 90 days of signing. If a project is cancelled, there is a dedicated tribunal that handles liquidation and purchaser rights.

Three checks before you commit: the project is RERA-registered with a live escrow account, your contract is lodged on Oqood within the 90 days, and your broker is DLD-licensed. All three can be verified through DLD's own channels.

A note on timing: developers have stretched delivery schedules from roughly three years to four. With a large volume of completions arriving in 2027 and 2028, ready stock is where I would be looking for the next twelve months, and off-plan is where I would negotiate hardest.

What the Rental Market Pays

Gross yields run at roughly 7% for apartments and 5% for villas and townhouses — well above anything available in Barcelona, where the city average is 4.4%.

Be honest with yourself about net rather than gross: service charges come out of that number, and rents softened about 7% over the year. But leasing activity rose 16% in the quarter, with new leases making up a growing share, and the population keeps climbing — Dubai passed 4.8 million residents during 2026.

How I Would Buy Dubai Right Now

Buy ready, not off-plan, unless the discount is real. With completions arriving through 2027 and 2028, the premium for waiting has narrowed.

Negotiate. Volumes are down almost 40% year on year. Sellers and developers know it.

Stay prime where you can. The best addresses held their value through the softening. The mid-market studio and one-bedroom segment is the one analysts flag as most exposed to the new supply.

Budget the cash properly — the deposit plus roughly 6% in fees that can no longer be financed.

Take advice at home before you buy abroad. The UAE will not tax you. Your own country probably will.

Dubai spent five years as a seller's market. It is not one today. For a buyer with capital and patience, that is precisely the point.

Thinking about Dubai? Contact us at info@weigsding-investments.com or message us on WhatsApp. We work in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French, and we will tell you which buildings are worth your money.

This article is general information, not investment, legal or tax advice. Market data reflects the periods cited and will change. Visa rules and fees are set by Dubai Land Department and GDRFA Dubai and should be confirmed for your own case. Take professional advice in your country of tax residence before acting.

Sources

Savills, Dubai Residential Market Report Q3 2026 (12 October 2026) and the accompanying press release
CBRE, UAE Real Estate Market Review Q3 2026
Cavendish Maxwell, H1 2026 Dubai market release
Dubai Land Department, Q1 2026 transactions release (9 April 2026); property sale registration, mortgage registration and initial sale registration fee pages; project registration and escrow guidance
Dubai Land Department, Investor Residence (Taskeen) and Golden Visa – Investor service pages (updated November 2026)
GDRFA Dubai, golden residence permit and property owner residence pages (updated November 2026)
UAE Government portal (u.ae), "Expatriates buying a property in the UAE" (updated 2 November 2026) and "Taxation" / "Other taxes" (updated 28 October 2026)
Federal Tax Authority, real estate VAT guidance; Ministry of Finance, Cabinet Decision on natural persons (19 May 2023)
Gulf News, on the removal of the AED 750,000 investor visa threshold (29 April 2026)
The National, on UAE mortgage and fee rules (25 January 2025) and on Emaar's Mohamed Alabbar (7 September 2026)
Moody's via The National, on the UAE residential supply pipeline (10 February 2026)