Does that mean off-plan is bad value?

No, and the figure should not be read that way. This is not a like-for-like comparison. Off-plan stock is newer, more often branded or serviced, and frequently on the better plots left in a district — so a higher price per square foot partly reflects a different product rather than a worse deal. What the numbers do settle is the specific claim that buying off-plan gets you the same thing for less. On the register, it usually does not.

No — it is remarkably steady. The median gap across districts was 24% in 2022, 35% in 2023, 26% in 2024, 30% in 2025, 31% in 2026. That matters more than any single year: a one-year figure is an anecdote, five years of the same figure is how the market prices new stock.

What does this comparison not tell me?

Quite a lot, and it is worth being blunt about it. It says nothing about rental yield — the register records sales, not lettings, so any yield figure would be invented. It says nothing about the condition, floor, view or service charge of a specific home, all of which move a price more than a district median can show. It does not price handover risk, or the value of paying in instalments rather than in full. And it compares medians, not the same apartment in two states.

Is Off-Plan Cheaper Than Ready Property in Dubai? We Counted

Q: Is off-plan property cheaper than ready property in Dubai?

Measured on registered sales rather than asking prices, no. In 49 of the 53 Dubai districts with at least 20 recorded sales on both sides in 2026, off-plan sold at a higher median price per square foot than completed homes. The median gap was 31%. Only 4 districts ran the other way. Figures from the Dubai Land Department register to 4 August 2026.

Q: Where is off-plan actually cheaper?

In 2026: Sobha Hartland (0%), Mudon (-1%), Arabian Ranches 3 (-12%), The Valley (-13%). These are outer master-planned communities where the developer is still selling much the same house that appears on the resale market, so the comparison is closer to like-for-like than it is on the Palm or in Business Bay.

The finding

In 49 of 53 districts, off-plan cost more.

Taking every Dubai district where the Land Department registered at least 20 sales of completed homes and 20 off-plan sales in 2026, off-plan sold at a higher median price per square foot in 49 of 53. The median gap was 31%. 4 districts ran the other way, and they are named below rather than left out.

The same measurement, five years running

Median gap between off-plan and completed, across all qualifying districts.

2022 41 districts: +24%
2023 52 districts: +35%
2024 55 districts: +26%
2025 60 districts: +30%
2026 (to date) 53 districts: +31%

One year would be an anecdote. Five years of the same figure is how the market prices new stock.

Before you use this

A higher price per foot is not proof of a worse deal.

This is not like-for-like. Off-plan stock is newer, more often branded or serviced, and frequently on the better plots left in a district. Part of the gap is a different product, not a worse price.
You are not buying the same thing. Off-plan is bought on a payment plan against a building that does not exist yet. That carries a cost and a risk that a completed home does not, and it carries an option a completed home does not either.
Medians, not matched pairs. We are comparing the middle of one set of sales with the middle of another, in the same district and year. We are not comparing the same apartment in two states, because nobody can.
What it does settle is the specific claim that off-plan gets you the same thing for less. On the register, in most of Dubai, it does not.

Every district we can measure

District by district, 2026 to date.

Median AED per square foot on registered sales. Sorted by the gap, widest first. Districts with fewer than 20 sales on either side are left out — a median built on six sales is noise, and this table will be quoted.

District	Completed	Off-plan	Gap	Sales
La Mer	3,017	7,502	+149%	78 / 54
Sufouh Gardens	1,647	4,075	+147%	33 / 588
Meydan Racecourse Community	1,536	3,576	+133%	126 / 1,606
Palm Jumeirah	2,805	5,873	+109%	447 / 239
Dubai Land Residence Complex	818	1,466	+79%	339 / 3,903
Majan	867	1,550	+79%	594 / 2,776
Motor City	1,038	1,840	+77%	388 / 1,396
International City Phase 1	677	1,152	+70%	752 / 302
Discovery Gardens	987	1,671	+69%	653 / 100
Al Barari	1,738	2,944	+69%	147 / 117
Silicon Oasis	970	1,575	+62%	651 / 395
Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)	1,540	2,363	+53%	894 / 431
Site A	2,265	3,467	+53%	63 / 59
Business Bay	1,994	2,980	+49%	1,746 / 1,706
Dubai Sports City	1,000	1,433	+43%	630 / 1,106
Liwan1	980	1,387	+41%	305 / 239
International City Phase 3	882	1,238	+40%	264 / 673
International Media Production Zone	999	1,389	+39%	427 / 1,499
Dubai Harbour	3,353	4,612	+38%	167 / 302
Dubai Marina	1,996	2,737	+37%	1,190 / 93
DAMAC HILLS	1,340	1,813	+35%	351 / 396
Jumeirah Garden City	1,711	2,311	+35%	62 / 1,047
Dubai Investment Park First	888	1,191	+34%	115 / 1,360
Living Legends	939	1,244	+32%	73 / 187
Dubai South Residential District	1,119	1,466	+31%	548 / 1,719
Downtown Dubai	2,621	3,432	+31%	972 / 326
The Greens	1,854	2,428	+31%	249 / 23
Dubai World Central	1,304	1,697	+30%	147 / 7,647
Dubai Science Park	1,392	1,808	+30%	105 / 820
Town Square	1,358	1,723	+27%	570 / 642
Arjan	1,357	1,718	+27%	779 / 1,418
City Walk	2,674	3,354	+25%	164 / 396
Mohammed Bin Rashid AL Maktoum District 11	1,613	1,996	+24%	83 / 257
Jumeirah Village Triangle	1,386	1,705	+23%	381 / 1,560
Down Town Jabal Ali	1,402	1,714	+22%	75 / 1,816
Jumeirah Village Circle	1,304	1,577	+21%	2,602 / 3,688
DAMAC HILLS 2	1,107	1,291	+17%	78 / 39
Wasl 1	1,927	2,251	+17%	55 / 104
Dubai Studio City	1,392	1,598	+15%	247 / 750
Meydan One Community	2,042	2,295	+12%	537 / 303
Dubai Creek Harbour	2,348	2,626	+12%	731 / 1,601
Al Furjan	1,335	1,499	+12%	615 / 828
WARSAN FIRST DEVELOPMENT	1,228	1,373	+12%	37 / 264
Dubai Health Care City Phase 2	1,854	2,054	+11%	244 / 272
Jumeirah Islands	2,307	2,507	+9%	44 / 726
Dubai Water Canal	3,045	3,245	+7%	78 / 286
Jaddaf Waterfront	1,800	1,913	+6%	72 / 185
Wasl Gate	1,479	1,547	+5%	45 / 1,320
Dubai Hills Estate	2,323	2,417	+4%	498 / 781
Sobha Hartland	2,010	2,005	0%	547 / 139
Mudon	1,588	1,568	-1%	187 / 80
Arabian Ranches 3	1,887	1,668	-12%	126 / 64
The Valley	1,444	1,261	-13%	191 / 153

Sales column is completed / off-plan. Source: Dubai Land Department, registered transactions to 4 August 2026. Sales only — mortgages and gifts excluded.

The exceptions

Where off-plan really is the cheaper option.

4 districts in 2026 where off-plan sold at or below completed homes per square foot. They have something in common: they are outer master-planned communities where the developer is still selling much the same house that turns up on the resale market. That is the one situation where this comparison is close to like-for-like — and it is also where the original claim holds.

Sobha Hartland 547 / 139 sales: 0% 2,010 → 2,005
Mudon 187 / 80 sales: -1% 1,588 → 1,568
Arabian Ranches 3 126 / 64 sales: -12% 1,887 → 1,668
The Valley 191 / 153 sales: -13% 1,444 → 1,261

What we cannot tell you

The gaps in this, stated.

No rental yield. The register records sales, not lettings. Any yield figure on this page would be invented, so there is not one.
Nothing about a specific home. Floor, view, finish, orientation and service charge move a price far more than a district median can capture.
No handover risk priced in. A completed home exists. An off-plan one is a contract, an escrow account and a date. What that actually costs in time is measured in what goes wrong with off-plan, and each project file states its own position.

Two questions sit beside this one: how long off-plan takes to arrive and, if you might ever want out, whether you can sell it again. For a specific building, ask us and an advisor will pull its recorded sales by hand — or ask Ana at the bottom of this page, she reads the same register.

Is off-plan cheaper than ready?