Insights
What Dubai Property Advertising Does Not Tell You
How to read a Dubai listing critically, and what the numbers in it usually leave out.
Property marketing is designed to generate enquiries, not to inform decisions. Reading a listing critically is a learnable skill.
The yield figure is gross
A quoted yield of a given percentage almost always divides annual rent by purchase price and stops there. Subtract service charges, management fees, maintenance and realistic vacancy and the figure changes materially.
Area may include more than floor space
Advertised built up area sometimes includes balconies, terraces or a share of common area. The title deed is authoritative.
Photography is directional
Wide angle lenses make rooms look larger. Renders show the intended state of a project, not its current one. Twilight photography flatters every building ever constructed. None of this is dishonest, but none of it substitutes for a viewing.
Starting from prices are the smallest unit
A project advertised from a given price is quoting the least desirable unit in the development, usually the lowest floor with the worst orientation.
Payment plans describe timing, not discount
An attractive plan improves your cash flow. It does not by itself mean you are paying less.
The permit number is the one number that must be real
Every property advertisement in Dubai must carry a valid Trakheesi permit number. Off plan advertising must additionally state the developer, the escrow account number and the expected completion date. These are legal requirements, not courtesies, and they are the fastest way to check whether you are dealing with a compliant agency.
What a good listing looks like
- Permit number and brokerage registration number shown
- Service charge stated or offered on request
- Real photographs of the actual unit, dated
- Exact community and building named, not just the district
- Clear statement of whether the unit is vacant or tenanted, and until when