Dubai property listings are full of numbers. Price per square foot. Gross rental yield. Service charges. Payment plan ratios. Handover dates. Each figure looks straightforward on its own, but understanding what each one actually means—and how they interact with each other—is what separates a buyer who makes an informed decision from one who chooses based on whichever number looks most impressive in the headline.
This guide explains the key figures you will encounter in any Dubai listing and what to do with them.
Price Per Square Foot
Price per square foot is the most useful single figure for comparing properties in Dubai — more reliable than the total asking price alone because it normalizes for size. A studio at AED 900,000 and a one-bedroom at AED 1,100,000 look like similar investments at the headline level. But if the studio is 400 square feet and the one-bedroom is 750 square feet, the price per square foot tells a very different story about which one represents better value.
In 2026, price per square foot varies significantly by community. JVC trades at around AED 1,461, JLT at approximately AED 1,467, Business Bay between AED 1,800 and AED 2,200, Downtown between AED 2,500 and AED 4,000, and Palm Jumeirah above AED 3,000 per square foot. When a unit is priced significantly below or above its community average on a per-square-foot basis, the first question is always why.
Gross Yield vs Net Yield
Gross rental yield is calculated by dividing the annual rent by the purchase price and expressing the result as a percentage. It is the figure almost every listing and developer marketing piece leads with. It is also incomplete.
Net yield subtracts all ongoing ownership costs from the annual rent before dividing by the purchase price. Those costs include service charges, property management fees, a vacancy allowance, and the Dubai Municipality housing fee of 5% charged against the annual rent. The gap between gross and net yield varies considerably depending on the community and building.
A unit in a premium Downtown tower showing a 6% gross yield with service charges at AED 50 per square foot delivers a net yield of approximately 3.5% to 4% after costs. The same 6% gross yield in a JVC building with service charges at AED 14 per square foot produces a net yield closer to 5%. The gross figures are identical. The actual returns are materially different.
Always ask for the service charge rate before accepting any yield figure as meaningful. If a listing does not show service charges, find them through the RERA service charge index before making a decision.
Service Charges
Service charges are the annual fees paid by every property owner to cover common area maintenance, building management, security, pools, gyms, and shared building systems. They are charged per square foot of the owned unit and billed quarterly or annually depending on the developer.
In Dubai, service charges range from AED 9 per square foot in modest mid-market buildings to AED 68 per square foot in the most premium towers. For a 750 square foot apartment, the difference between a building charging AED 12 per square foot and one charging AED 40 per square foot is AED 21,000 per year. That figure changes the net yield calculation significantly and should be modeled before — not after — agreeing on a price.
Payment Plan Ratios
Off-plan listings typically show payment plans as ratios such as 60/40, 50/50, or 40/60. The first number is the percentage paid during construction. The second is the percentage paid at or after handover. A 60/40 plan means 60% during the construction period and 40% on or after handover.
Post-handover payment plans are valuable for investors because rental income can offset or fully cover the remaining installments. A well-structured 40/60 plan on a property with a 7% gross yield can effectively become self-financing from the day of handover onward, with rental income covering the outstanding balance in monthly or quarterly installments.
What listings do not always make clear is whether post-handover payments are monthly or quarterly, and over how many years they extend. These details sit in the Sales and Purchase Agreement, not the listing headline. Always request the full payment schedule before signing anything, and model the monthly outgoing against the expected rental income to confirm the cash flow picture is genuinely positive.
Handover Date
The handover date in an off-plan listing is the developer's stated target for project completion. It is not a contractual guarantee in the same sense as the payment schedule. Construction delays are common — a six to twelve month slip on a well-managed project is not unusual, and some projects have run significantly longer.
What matters when reading a handover date is the developer's delivery track record on previous projects. A developer who has consistently handed over within a few months of their stated date is meaningfully different from one whose previous completions came 18 to 24 months late. Check delivery history through RERA's project register before placing weight on any stated completion date.
For investors modeling rental income from a specific date, the handover timeline directly affects the total return. A six-month delay on a project with a 7% yield costs the equivalent of 3.5% of the purchase price in lost income — a material number that should be stress-tested in any investment model rather than assumed away.
The Number That Is Never in the Listing
Total transaction costs — the 4% DLD fee, agent commission of typically 2% in the secondary market, NOC fees, and registration charges — add 6% to 8% on top of the purchase price. These figures almost never appear in listings, and buyers who do not account for them are consistently surprised at the point of transfer.
A property listed at AED 1,500,000 costs approximately AED 1,590,000 to AED 1,620,000 all-in for a cash buyer, and more if mortgage registration fees apply. That gap affects the break-even timeline on any yield calculation and should be factored in before agreeing on a headline price, not after.
Browsing properties in Dubai? Explore listings across every community on Proffer and use the figures in this guide to compare what you find with real clarity.
