Downtown, Zabeel and Sheikh Zayed Road: what tenants actually signed
This page used to rest on the asking price of three listings. It now rests on registered tenancy contracts: 2,196 new contracts in Downtown Dubai and 190 in Zabeel. Only new contracts are counted. Renewals sit lower because the rent cap holds them down, and mixing the two would flatter the market. Source: Dubai Land Department, Ejari tenancy contract register, as of September 2026.
Downtown Dubai, register name Burj Khalifa
A one bedroom flat in Downtown was signed at a median of AED 9,166 per month across 643 contracts, with the middle half of those contracts between AED 8,333 and AED 10,000. The studio sample is the thin one here: 90 contracts, median AED 6,023 per month.
| Layout | Contracts (n) | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Median per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 90 | AED 5,166 | AED 6,023 | AED 7,916 | AED 72,276 |
| 1 bedroom | 643 | AED 8,333 | AED 9,166 | AED 10,000 | AED 109,992 |
| 2 bedrooms | 962 | AED 12,333 | AED 15,000 | AED 18,333 | AED 180,000 |
| 3 bedrooms | 501 | AED 20,416 | AED 25,833 | AED 28,750 | AED 309,996 |
Zabeel, register names Zaabeel First and Zaabeel Second
Zabeel is a small register area and the counts show it. Two bedrooms: median AED 12,916 per month out of 91 contracts. One bedroom: median AED 8,333 per month out of 80 contracts, which is below the Downtown one bedroom median. The three bedroom line rests on 19 contracts only and spans AED 35,833 to AED 62,500 between the quartiles, so read it as a range, not a price.
| Layout | Contracts (n) | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | Median per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | 80 | AED 7,895 | AED 8,333 | AED 9,166 | AED 99,996 |
| 2 bedrooms | 91 | AED 12,083 | AED 12,916 | AED 14,583 | AED 154,992 |
| 3 bedrooms | 19 | AED 35,833 | AED 51,666 | AED 62,500 | AED 619,992 |
How the layout is derived
The register stores floor area, not bedroom count, for most flats, so the layout is derived from area: studio up to 57 square metres, one bedroom 58 to 95, two bedrooms 96 to 146, three bedrooms 147 to 260, four bedrooms from 261. The classes genuinely overlap. The middle 80 percent of two bedroom flats measure between 92 and 149 square metres, so a flat near the boundary can fall on either side. Studios are a separate object type in the register and are not derived.
Asking prices, kept in their own table
Portal listings are what a landlord wants, a signed contract is what a tenant pays, and the two are never averaged together on this page. In Downtown the asking median for a studio is AED 7,875 against AED 6,023 signed, roughly 31 percent higher. For two bedrooms the gap is about 11 percent, for three bedrooms about 10 percent, and for one bedroom flats the two figures almost meet. For Sheikh Zayed Road there is no contract series at all, only three listings, and the Zabeel luxury line is four listings. Those two rows are an indication, nothing more.
| Area | Layout | Listings (n) | Lowest | Median asking | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Dubai | Studio | 76 | AED 4,992 | AED 7,875 | AED 12,500 |
| Downtown Dubai | 1 bedroom | 77 | AED 7,083 | AED 9,167 | AED 20,833 |
| Downtown Dubai | 2 bedrooms | 77 | AED 10,000 | AED 16,667 | AED 37,500 |
| Downtown Dubai | 3 bedrooms | 76 | AED 13,333 | AED 28,333 | AED 54,167 |
| Downtown Dubai | 4 bedrooms | 75 | AED 41,666 | AED 129,167 | AED 208,333 |
| Sheikh Zayed Road | 1 bedroom | 3 | AED 8,749 | AED 9,166 | AED 9,500 |
| Zabeel | 2 bedrooms (luxury segment) | 4 | AED 56,666 | AED 62,500 | AED 66,583 |
Questions and answers
Is the median what I will pay?
It is the middle of the signed market. Half of the 643 Downtown one bedroom contracts came in under AED 9,166 per month and half above. Furnishing, floor, view and the number of cheques move a single deal well inside the quartile band shown in the table.
Why is your Downtown studio number so far below the portals?
Because it counts contracts, not adverts. 90 studio contracts give a median of AED 6,023 per month, while 76 studio listings ask a median of AED 7,875. Adverts stay online until they let, so the expensive ones accumulate.
What does a flat on Sheikh Zayed Road cost?
We cannot answer that from contracts. The strip is split across several register areas and no clean series comes out of it. Three one bedroom listings ask a median of AED 9,166 per month, which is the whole of the evidence.
Are renewals in these numbers?
No. Renewals are capped by the Dubai rent index and run below the figures above. Anyone renewing in Downtown or Zabeel should expect a smaller increase than this table suggests.
Every new batch of register figures goes into the channel first: t.me/dxbradar. Source: Dubai Land Department, Ejari tenancy contract register, as of September 2026.