Ready or off-plan: what the premium really is
How much more does an off-plan flat cost than a finished one in the same area with the same bedroom count? This page does not assert the premium, it calculates it: median price per square metre off-plan minus median price per square metre in the ready market, from registered sale contracts. Per square metre, because off-plan layouts are on average not the same size as the standing stock, and a comparison of whole tickets would report a size difference as a price difference.
One threshold governs this page, and here it is. A row counts as a market statement only if at least 20 registered sale contracts stand on each side, ready and off-plan. Below twenty contracts a single registration moves the median by more than a twentieth of the sample, so what looks like a premium is really the arithmetic of a thin cell. Of the 49 area and bedroom combinations that have both sides at all, 29 clear that bar. Their median premium is 44.6 percent, and it runs from 13.2 percent to 204.0 percent. The remaining 20 are not hidden: they stand further down in a table of their own, marked as thin.
Source: Dubai Land Department, sale contract register, as of September 2026. The bedroom count comes from the register itself and is not derived from floor area, which is why this page can compare classes directly.
One-bedroom flats: the metre ready against the metre off-plan
| Area | Ready (n) | Off-plan (n) | Difference | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Hills | AED 21,793 (n = 166) | AED 24,663 (n = 41) | AED 2,870 | 13.2 percent |
| Al Furjan | AED 11,871 (n = 153) | AED 16,711 (n = 78) | AED 4,840 | 40.8 percent |
| Arjan | AED 12,673 (n = 276) | AED 17,918 (n = 250) | AED 5,245 | 41.4 percent |
| Business Bay | AED 17,700 (n = 502) | AED 25,335 (n = 293) | AED 7,635 | 43.1 percent |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | AED 11,162 (n = 970) | AED 16,140 (n = 476) | AED 4,978 | 44.6 percent |
| Dubai South | AED 10,270 (n = 110) | AED 15,386 (n = 154) | AED 5,116 | 49.8 percent |
| Downtown Dubai (register name Burj Khalifa) | AED 20,791 (n = 313) | AED 31,171 (n = 54) | AED 10,380 | 49.9 percent |
| Dubai Sports City | AED 9,093 (n = 248) | AED 14,395 (n = 121) | AED 5,302 | 58.3 percent |
| Motor City | AED 10,221 (n = 122) | AED 19,651 (n = 93) | AED 9,430 | 92.3 percent |
The letter n in every table on this page is the case count: the number of registered contracts the figure in that row is calculated from. A median without its n is not a statement, it is a guess.
Four one-bedroom rows are missing from that table on purpose. Dubai Creek Harbour has 19 registered off-plan contracts, Palm Jumeirah 17, Dubai Marina 14 and Town Square 7. Their ready sides are deep, but a premium needs both halves. The two sturdiest rows that remain are Jumeirah Village Circle with 970 ready and 476 off-plan contracts, and Business Bay with 502 and 293.
Inside an area the premium depends on the class
| Unit type | Business Bay Ready (n) | Business Bay Off-plan (n) | Business Bay Premium | Jumeirah Village Circle Ready (n) | Jumeirah Village Circle Off-plan (n) | Jumeirah Village Circle Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | AED 21,293 (n = 274) | AED 27,173 (n = 94) | 27.6 percent | AED 13,523 (n = 417) | AED 19,446 (n = 345) | 43.8 percent |
| 1 bedroom | AED 17,700 (n = 502) | AED 25,335 (n = 293) | 43.1 percent | AED 11,162 (n = 970) | AED 16,140 (n = 476) | 44.6 percent |
| 2 bedrooms | AED 16,287 (n = 320) | AED 27,162 (n = 122) | 66.8 percent | AED 10,269 (n = 324) | AED 14,761 (n = 119) | 43.7 percent |
| 3 bedrooms | AED 15,560 (n = 127) | AED 28,524 (n = 40) | 83.3 percent | below the threshold | below the threshold | below the threshold |
In Business Bay the premium climbs with the flat, from 27.6 percent on a studio to 83.3 percent on three bedrooms, which is AED 12,964 on every metre. Jumeirah Village Circle does the opposite: the premium stays between 43.7 percent and 44.6 percent across studio, one and two bedrooms. Its three-bedroom cell is empty here because the off-plan side holds only 19 contracts; the figures are in the thin table below.
Dubai Sports City: cheapest ready metre, sizeable premium
| Unit type | Ready (n) | Off-plan (n) | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | AED 10,672 (n = 195) | AED 15,341 (n = 135) | 43.8 percent |
| 1 bedroom | AED 9,093 (n = 248) | AED 14,395 (n = 121) | 58.3 percent |
| 2 bedrooms | AED 8,657 (n = 155) | AED 14,096 (n = 112) | 62.8 percent |
| 3 bedrooms | below the threshold | below the threshold | below the threshold |
This is where the mechanism shows itself. The ready metre in Dubai Sports City is the cheapest in the whole reading, from AED 8,657 to AED 10,672 depending on class, while the off-plan metre barely varies with size, from AED 14,096 to AED 15,341. A large percentage premium is the arithmetic consequence of a low denominator, not proof that buyers there are being overcharged.
The thin rows, printed but not counted
| Area | Unit type | Ready (n) | Off-plan (n) | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Bay | 4 bedrooms | AED 13,894 (n = 25) | AED 60,354 (n = 6) | 334.4 percent |
| Arjan | 3 bedrooms | AED 12,693 (n = 27) | AED 13,328 (n = 6) | 5.0 percent |
| Dubai Marina | 3 bedrooms | AED 14,911 (n = 158) | AED 25,634 (n = 7) | 71.9 percent |
| Dubai Hills | 3 bedrooms | AED 20,276 (n = 65) | AED 24,223 (n = 7) | 19.5 percent |
| Town Square | 1 bedroom | AED 13,542 (n = 73) | AED 15,378 (n = 7) | 13.6 percent |
| Dubai South | 3 bedrooms | AED 9,003 (n = 25) | AED 13,487 (n = 8) | 49.8 percent |
| Downtown Dubai (register name Burj Khalifa) | 4 bedrooms | AED 36,696 (n = 23) | AED 44,320 (n = 9) | 20.8 percent |
| Dubai Sports City | 3 bedrooms | AED 9,402 (n = 23) | AED 14,086 (n = 9) | 49.8 percent |
| Mirdif | 2 bedrooms | AED 9,898 (n = 26) | AED 14,240 (n = 12) | 43.9 percent |
| Dubai Marina | 2 bedrooms | AED 15,699 (n = 421) | AED 25,462 (n = 13) | 62.2 percent |
| Palm Jumeirah | 4 bedrooms | AED 23,583 (n = 21) | AED 61,015 (n = 13) | 158.7 percent |
| Dubai Marina | 1 bedroom | AED 16,355 (n = 545) | AED 24,078 (n = 14) | 47.2 percent |
| Downtown Dubai (register name Burj Khalifa) | Studio | AED 21,940 (n = 43) | AED 36,878 (n = 15) | 68.1 percent |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 2 bedrooms | AED 22,684 (n = 316) | AED 25,078 (n = 15) | 10.6 percent |
| Motor City | 3 bedrooms | AED 8,611 (n = 39) | AED 20,537 (n = 15) | 138.5 percent |
| Palm Jumeirah | 1 bedroom | AED 20,360 (n = 80) | AED 35,481 (n = 17) | 74.3 percent |
| Motor City | Studio | AED 10,225 (n = 18) | AED 20,870 (n = 64) | 104.1 percent |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 3 bedrooms | AED 13,870 (n = 35) | AED 15,113 (n = 19) | 9.0 percent |
| Dubai Hills | 2 bedrooms | AED 20,715 (n = 198) | AED 23,273 (n = 19) | 12.3 percent |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 1 bedroom | AED 22,296 (n = 222) | AED 25,065 (n = 19) | 12.4 percent |
Read that table as a direction of travel and nothing more. The thinnest rows are 4 bedrooms in Business Bay and 3 bedrooms in Arjan, each with 6 registered off-plan contracts, and a percentage built on six deals is a headline, not a measurement. Motor City is the mirror image: its Studio class has 64 off-plan contracts but only 18 ready ones, so the thin half is the denominator this time.
The extremes, counted honestly
Among the 29 rows that clear the threshold, the widest gap belongs to 3 bedrooms in Palm Jumeirah: 204.0 percent, AED 20,468 ready from 86 contracts against AED 62,213 off-plan from 36. The narrowest belongs to 1 bedroom in Dubai Hills, 13.2 percent, from 166 ready and 41 off-plan contracts. Motor City is the other pole among the deep rows: 92.3 percent at one bedroom, AED 10,221 against AED 19,651.
What the number does not say
The register records the price, not the reason. The premium blends three things the data cannot separate: the age of the building, the specification, and the handover date. In Motor City, Dubai South and Dubai Sports City the off-plan side is a set of fresh projects while the ready stock is years older, so part of what looks like the price of waiting is the price of a newer building.
The trade is also not only about money. Off-plan is paid in instalments across the construction period; a ready flat wants the full sum or a mortgage now. In exchange the off-plan buyer carries the handover date and the risk of it moving, while the ready buyer gets the keys and can let the flat immediately. For the same reason off-plan does not belong in a rental yield calculation: it produces no rent until it is handed over.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the off-plan premium in Dubai?
The median across the 29 area and bedroom combinations that carry at least 20 registered contracts on each side is 44.6 percent on the square metre price. The range runs from 13.2 percent for 1 bedroom in Dubai Hills to 92.3 percent for one bedroom in Motor City, so the city-wide figure should not be used for a specific purchase.
What is the threshold on this page and why?
At least 20 registered sale contracts on each side, ready and off-plan. It keeps 29 of 49 combinations. Below that a single registration moves the median too far, and a premium built on six or seven deals describes those deals rather than a market.
Where is the difference smallest?
1 bedroom in Dubai Hills, 13.2 percent, from 166 ready and 41 off-plan contracts. That is the smallest premium among the rows that clear the threshold.
What does an off-plan one-bedroom cost in Jumeirah Village Circle?
A median contract price of AED 1,154,643 from 476 registered off-plan contracts. The ready equivalent is AED 859,880 from 970.
Why compare per square metre and not the whole price?
Because off-plan units are laid out differently on average. Comparing tickets would report a difference in size as a difference in price.
Source: Dubai Land Department, sale contract register, as of September 2026. The figures are reproduced with attribution; they are not a DXB Radar survey.
New readings from the Dubai Land Department registers go out on the DXB Radar Telegram channel: t.me/dxbradar.