Buying an apartment in Business Bay: what buyers actually paid
Business Bay is the tower district along the Dubai Canal, immediately south of Downtown. Two different markets sit inside that one name: finished units in the resale market and off-plan stock that has not been handed over. Prices diverge widely, so they are kept in separate tables here. Every figure comes from registered sale contracts. Source: Dubai Land Department, sale contract register, September 2026. The register area carries the same name as the district.
Resale stock: the prices on the contracts
A one bedroom apartment changed hands at a median of AED 1,301,210, calculated from 502 sale contracts. The middle half of those sales ran from AED 1,000,000 to AED 1,680,663. That spread carries more information than the median on its own.
| Type | Sale contracts | Median | Middle half (p25 to p75) | Median per m2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 274 | AED 935,000 | AED 750,000 to AED 1,150,000 | AED 21,293 |
| 1 bedroom | 502 | AED 1,301,210 | AED 1,000,000 to AED 1,680,663 | AED 17,700 |
| 2 bedrooms | 320 | AED 2,057,478 | AED 1,600,000 to AED 2,416,972 | AED 16,287 |
| 3 bedrooms | 127 | AED 2,750,000 | AED 2,280,000 to AED 3,550,000 | AED 15,560 |
| 4 bedrooms | 25 | AED 4,500,000 | AED 3,885,000 to AED 5,600,000 | AED 13,894 |
Source: Dubai Land Department, sale contract register, September 2026.
The per square metre column runs the other way round from the headline price. Studios trade at AED 21,293 per m2, while four bedroom units sit at AED 13,894 per m2 across 25 contracts. The cheapest entry ticket is the most expensive floor area.
Off-plan: a separate price level
Off-plan in Business Bay sits clearly above the resale market. One bedroom off-plan came in at a median of AED 2,000,000 from 293 sale contracts, against AED 1,301,210 in resale from 502 contracts. Same bedroom count, roughly half a million AED apart.
| Type | Sale contracts | Median | Middle half (p25 to p75) | Median per m2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 94 | AED 1,177,000 | AED 1,024,000 to AED 1,313,000 | AED 27,173 |
| 1 bedroom | 293 | AED 2,000,000 | AED 1,475,000 to AED 2,291,000 | AED 25,335 |
| 2 bedrooms | 122 | AED 3,383,315 | AED 2,520,379 to AED 4,135,548 | AED 27,162 |
| 3 bedrooms | 40 | AED 5,282,916 | AED 3,600,000 to AED 18,020,000 | AED 28,524 |
| 4 bedrooms | 6 | AED 27,308,490 | AED 12,000,000 to AED 43,468,997 | AED 60,354 |
Source: Dubai Land Department, sale contract register, September 2026. The four bedroom line rests on only 6 contracts. That is too thin to call a market price; it only shows the segment exists.
What the unit rents for
Rent figures come from a different register, so they get their own table. These are new leases only. Renewals are held down by the rent cap and sit lower. Source: Dubai Land Department, Ejari contract register, September 2026, new contracts only.
| Type | Rent contracts | Median monthly rent | Middle half (p25 to p75) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 733 | AED 5,000 | AED 4,500 to AED 5,666 |
| 1 bedroom | 756 | AED 7,198 | AED 6,416 to AED 8,333 |
| 2 bedrooms | 355 | AED 10,000 | AED 8,958 to AED 11,666 |
| 3 bedrooms | 125 | AED 14,583 | AED 12,083 to AED 16,916 |
| 4 bedrooms | 17 | AED 42,307 | AED 22,500 to AED 66,666 |
Put the two registers together and you get gross yield. One bedroom: AED 7,198 per month across 756 lease contracts is AED 86,376 per year, divided by the median purchase price of AED 1,301,210 from 502 sale contracts, which gives 6.6 percent. Studios come out at 6.4 percent, two bedroom units at 5.8 percent. Gross means before service charges, vacancy and maintenance.
How to read these numbers
The median splits the contracts in half: half below, half above. It is steadier than an average because a handful of very large deals cannot drag it. Bedroom counts in the sale register are recorded in the register itself and are filled in for 96 percent of contracts. For leases we derive the bedroom count from floor area, and the classes genuinely overlap: 10 to 90 percent of two bedroom units fall between 92 and 149 m2. That belongs on the page.
Questions and answers
Why is off-plan more expensive than resale?
Because different objects are being sold. Off-plan means newer buildings, often smaller layouts with higher specification, sold on payment plans. The per m2 median for a one bedroom is AED 25,335 off-plan against AED 17,700 in resale. Comparisons only hold inside the same category.
What should I budget for a studio?
In resale, AED 935,000 at the median from 274 sale contracts, with the middle half between AED 750,000 and AED 1,150,000. Off-plan, AED 1,177,000 from 94 contracts.
Are these asking prices?
No. They are completed sale contracts registered with the Dubai Land Department. Portal asking prices sit systematically higher and never appear in the same table as contract data on this site.
You do not have what I am looking for?
Send it through the form below this page: area, bedroom count, budget, and whether you want resale or off-plan. The enquiry goes to brokers working in Dubai in that segment. We sell nothing ourselves and work only from the register figures.
We publish further register readings on t.me/dxbradar.