I have been reading these forums for quite some time now and it seems the more you read the more inaccurate the information seems to be getting as we have here a large mix of new investors and some seasoned hands, myself falling in the former category.

Anyway, in an effort to help my fellow forumers, I have done some research and found out the published truth about approximate square foot prices in Dubai, however, be advised that these are prices from last quarter 2007 and based on an average for residential and commercial and as such, prices may have gone up by a minimum of 5%. I will list herebelow some of the main areas and corresponding prices:

Palm Jumeirah 1900
DIFC 1800
Burj 1700
Culture Village 1300
Jumeirah Islands 1250
JBR 1200
Jumeirah Heights 1200
Jumeirah Park 1150
Jumeirah Village 780
Lagoons 1000
Palm Deira 1100
Palm JA 1100
Int City 800
Discovery Gardens 750
Dubailand 850

We, new investors, must not be cheated into paying higher than market prices just because there is no rationale for comparison. I also read somewhere that the Freehold listings in Gulf News is a good source for market prices, unfortunately this is also not true as most sales do not seem to be made at the advertised prices.

Another very interesting thing that I heard from an agent/developer trying to hardsell an over 2000 psqft property to me was that according to him, anything below 2000 psqft will never start construction in Dubai, and more than scaring me, his comment showed me to what extent people will go to market their properties !

Even though there is money to be made here, the operative word in all investments and in Dubai in particular is caution and vigilence.

Where did you get these prices from? Betterhomes produces a monthly guide detailing highest / lowest / average square foot prices for apartments and villas. Your prices are way below those published by Better Homes back in April which is the latest edition I have.

That could be very true, but im sure the disparity is not a lot. My info is from a publication known as A-Z property guide Dubai. From what I know betterhomes is the leading property agent in Dubai and other agencies actually buy from and sell to this wholesaler, so what you are saying is quite true. Would it be possible to get a copy of the betterhomes publication?

The only place I've managed to get the publication from here in the UK is when there is a property show and Better Homes are exhibiting. I pick up copies every time I'm in Dubai as well and now have several copies going back to December 2005.
The prices are quite discrepant I'm afraid.
eg apartment villa (PSF average)
Burj Dubai 2952 2665
DIFC 2898
Discovery Gardens 1084
JBR 1594

The thing is that the data collected is not from the Lands Department, instead they pay researches to scrape web sites and publications for selling prices which often include agents commissions and also transfer duty. Then there are problems trusting data because some people list in Dubai today, what they want to sell on in 1 year. When the price hits their magic figure - then they know they will get a call. Lots of other reasons for differences exist, just can't think of them right now. Nonetheless, some data is better than NO data!

Lucky, you know in UK we have many websites where we can check how much a property was sold for. Doesnt anything like that exist in a high-tech country like UAE?

Nope, this is because transactions are only just getting registered with the government, most still get done with the developer. So if I sell you a Wimpey Home, we both go down to Wimpey to do the needful. Crazy I know, but it seems to work.

Hi, is anyone knows what is the prices in DSC right now. Thanks

should be ideally between 850 and 1000 but seems like new entry level folks like us can't find these prices.

Its easy to find those prices in re sale,u should be prepared to pay around 15 to 40 % of the money as first payment.