From Our Desk

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 1 MIN

Mortgage

Getting a Dubai mortgage is easier than most buyers expect and harder than brokers advertise.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Monthly Installment

The monthly instalment your UAE mortgage calculator shows is the easy part.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Master Developer

The master developer decides things you did not realise were decisions, and those decisions will shape your property’s resale value for 30 years.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Margin

Margin in Dubai property comes from two places: entering at the right phase price and exiting with a realistic estimate of what buyers will pay.

MARKETS · MAY 01 · 5 MIN

The UAE Exits OPEC and OPEC+ on May 1, 2026: What This Means for the Real Estate Market

UAE announces exit from OPEC and OPEC+ effective May 1, 2026. Third-largest producer leaves the cartel targeting 5 million barrels per day by 2027 — adding up to $50B annually to the economy. What this means for Dubai and Abu Dhabi real estate, and why the window for premium-segment buying decisions closes in 18 months.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Maintenance Fee

Dubai landlords routinely confuse maintenance fee with service charge.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

LTV (Loan-to-Value)

LTV is the number the UAE Central Bank cares about most, and the number that quietly defines what kind of buyer you are.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Limited Release

“Limited release” means the developer is controlling inventory drip to protect pricing.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Leverage

Leverage amplifies the winners and the losers in Dubai real estate with the same force.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Leasehold

Leasehold in Dubai is the ownership structure people accept when they do not read the small print on an otherwise attractive listing.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Lead

Most Dubai agents I meet count leads.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Lead Conversion

The Dubai real estate industry average for lead-to-close conversion sits somewhere between 1% and 3%.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Layout

Layout is the difference between a 1,000 sqft unit that feels spacious and a 1,000 sqft unit where you can’t fit a sofa without blocking the kitchen door.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Launch

“The launch” in Dubai is a marketing event wrapped around a transactional window, and the window is what actually matters.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Launch Price

Launch price is not a price.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Launch Phase

The launch phase of a Dubai off-plan project is the cheapest moment to buy and the most expensive moment to buy badly.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

Landlord

The Dubai landlord who reads the tenancy law once a year is the landlord who wins rent cases.

PROCESS · MAY 01 · 3 MIN

KYC

KYC is the quiet cousin of AML, and it is the form most buyers fill in once, never think about again, and then struggle to update when their life situat…

MARKETS · APR 30 · 7 MIN

Studio Apartments in Dubai: Investment Analysis 2026

Studios in Dubai quietly outperform larger apartments on yield — JVC and Arjan units routinely clear 7.5–9% gross, with three sub-AED 800k studios stacking neatly into the AED 2M Golden Visa threshold. Here is the 2026 numbers-first breakdown most brokers skip.