The full cost of buying property in Dubai
Build a Dubai purchase budget that includes registration, agency and finance costs, then plan for the annual expenses of ownership.
Published · Updated · 3 min read
The price on the listing is the beginning of a Dubai purchase budget. Your cash requirement also depends on how the property is registered, whether you borrow, what you agree with the agent and the condition in which the property is delivered.
Build two budgets before making an offer: the cash needed to complete the purchase, and the amount needed to own the property for the following year. Keeping them separate makes an apparently affordable unit easier to assess.
Registration and transfer costs
The DLD property sale service lists a seller fee of 2% and a buyer fee of 2%, a combined 4% of the sale value. Check how your agreement allocates that cost. Do not assume the seller will pay half simply because the service page lists both parties.
For the ready-property route, the published registration partner fee is AED 4,000 plus VAT for transactions of AED 500,000 or more, and AED 2,000 plus VAT below that threshold. Title, map and other applicable service charges should appear separately in your written completion statement.
Off-plan registration follows a different process. Ask for the developer’s itemised registration schedule and compare it with the initial-sale registration service. A developer promotion that absorbs a fee should be recorded in the signed agreement.
The costs that depend on your transaction
Agency commission is a contractual charge. Agree the amount, VAT treatment, payment trigger and any cancellation terms before paying a reservation amount. Also obtain a written quote for conveyancing or legal work, developer clearance and any power of attorney you need.
If you borrow, include the lender’s arrangement and valuation charges, insurance requirements and mortgage registration. DLD’s mortgage service states a registration charge of 0.25% of the mortgage value, with additional charges depending on the registration route. That percentage is not the bank’s interest rate or the full cost of borrowing.
For a resale, ask how prepaid service charges, rent and the tenant’s security deposit will be reconciled at transfer. For a newly delivered unit, include utility activation, fit-out or furnishing, inspection and any work excluded from the developer’s specification.
A worked budgeting example
Consider a hypothetical AED 2 million apartment where the buyer has contractually agreed to carry the full 4% transfer charge. That line alone is AED 80,000. If the agreed agency fee were 2% plus 5% VAT on that fee, it would add AED 42,000. These two assumptions take the subtotal to AED 2,122,000 before the other items above.
This is arithmetic, not a quotation. Replace every assumption with a transaction-specific figure. Refundable deposits should be shown as cash tied up, rather than silently treated as permanent expenses.
Budget for the year after completion
Obtain the building’s approved service charges, recent utility information, insurance quote and a maintenance allowance. A landlord also needs a vacancy reserve and a clear management agreement. Use these costs in the net rental yield calculation, and compare financing separately in our cash or mortgage guide.
Before signing, ask for one completion statement naming every payee and due date. The total cash requirement, including your reserve after completion, is the number that should drive the decision.
Sources checked 2 October 2026. Images rechecked 5 October 2026. Captions distinguish developer renderings, community photographs and original Imperial Alfa guide graphics.