How to check a property's value in Dubai

The Dubai Land Department publishes records of the actual prices paid for properties across the city, available on the DLD website and the Dubai REST app. These are completed deals, so they beat listing prices, which often sit 5 to 10% above what buyers finally pay.

Find recent sales in the same building or community, ideally from the last three to six months, since older data can miss price moves in a fast-changing area. Collect at least three to five real comparables; a single sale could be an outlier.

A raw price means little until you adjust for differences between properties. Two apartments in the same tower can differ in value by 15 to 20% on floor, view, layout and condition alone, say a low floor facing the car park against a high floor facing the sea.

Work out the price per square foot from your comparables, then adjust it up or down for the unit in front of you. If similar apartments trade at AED 1,500 per square foot and your unit is 900 square feet, you're at roughly AED 1,350,000 before fine-tuning for floor, view and condition. Professional valuers and experienced agents use this same comparative method.

Property portals and the DLD's online services give quick value estimates and let you browse current listings and past transactions. Use them to sense-check a price before you dig deeper and to see how an area has moved over the past year.

Treat automated estimates as a guide. They work from averages and can miss a unit's floor, view, upgrades or condition, so a renovated apartment may be worth well above the automated figure. Check any estimate against real transaction data before you rely on it.

Each unit's value sits inside the wider market, so look beyond your own building. Track how the average price per square foot in your community has moved over the past year, whether transaction volumes are rising or thinning, and how much new supply is due for handover nearby. A wave of new completions can soften prices even for well-located resale units.

Momentum matters as much as the comparables. In a rising market, a value based on sales from six months ago may understate today's price; in a cooling one it may overstate it. Read the direction of travel as well as the latest data point, and you'll price a sale competitively or avoid overpaying as a buyer.

When you need a definitive figure, for a mortgage, a sale, a dispute or probate, commission a RERA-registered valuer. The valuer inspects the property, analyses comparable sales and market conditions, and issues a formal report that lenders and authorities accept.

Expect a set fee, commonly around AED 2,500 to AED 3,500 for a standard apartment. It pays for itself before you list a property, because you price accurately, and when you apply for finance, because the bank lends against the valued amount, not the asking price. A low valuation discovered late can derail a deal at the last minute.