Area guide · Dubai
Dubai Hills Estate property: how to read the numbers before you buy, sell or let.
Dubai Hills Estate property is one of the deepest markets in Dubai. Emaar develops the estate with Meraas, and it is freehold. About 25,300 homes stand there today. Another 8,743 were under construction on the Dubai Land Department (DLD) register at 30 September 2026. This page brings the key facts, the right way to read prices and rents, and all my Dubai Hills guides together.
At a glance
Dubai Hills Estate in eight facts
Emaar
master developer, with Meraas
Freehold
buyers of any nationality can own outright
25,300
homes in the estate today, about
8,743
homes being built in 21 apartment projects
2,512
apartments reached 100% built in 2026 by 30 September, a record
8 of 8
Emaar apartment projects started since 2022 finished early
1.9 months
median wait from 100% built to the first new lease
2029
the last register dates, up to October
Sources: the DLD project register read on 30 September 2026, Property Monitor unit counts read in September 2026, and Ejari lease records on DXB Interact, as cited in each guide. Register dates are developer estimates.
Start here
What do you want to know?
Each guide answers one question in depth, using DLD records, Ejari leases and Emaar’s own documents. New Dubai Hills guides are added here when they go live.
Read a price
- Dubai Hills Estate property prices 2026Where prices peaked, how far they fell, and a five-minute price check.
- Off-plan vs ready in Dubai HillsHow much cheaper off-plan should be, and what buyers really paid.
Time the keys
- Dubai Hills Estate new supplyEvery project being built, how far along it is, and when it lands.
- Dubai Hills Estate handover priceWhat sales show when a building gets its keys.
Rent it out
- Dubai Hills Estate rent 2026New leases and renewals, the rent cap, and what to do as a landlord or tenant.
- How long to find a tenant in Dubai HillsEmpty months in new towers, and your first year of rent.
Project reviews
- Golf Hillside by Emaar reviewMy 2024 launch review of one of the projects now being built.
What is coming
A mature estate with a second wave on the way
Most of Dubai Hills is built and lived in. Yet the homes now under construction add up to more than twice what finished in the last two years.
| Stage on the DLD register | Homes | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| 65% built or more | 2,305 | 7 |
| 50% to 65% built | 2,025 | 3 |
| Under 50% built | 4,413 | 11 |
| Total | 8,743 | 21 |
DLD project register, 30 September 2026, apartment projects only. 65% built or more: Greenside Residence, Club Drive, Club Place, Parkside Hills, Golf Hillside, Mallside Residence and Ellington House IV. 50% to 65%: Palace Residences Dubai Hills, Park Lane and Parkland. The largest under 50% are VIDA Residences Club Point, Address Residences Dubai Hills and Rosehill. Unit counts are register totals, so a few include some townhouses.
| Year | Apartments reaching 100% built | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 676 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1,383 | 3 |
| 2021 | 338 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2,244 | 4 |
| 2023 | 567 | 2 |
| 2024 | 308 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1,630 | 6 |
| 2026, to 30 September | 2,512 | 8 |
DLD project register. My price and rent guides give 1,711 homes for 2025, from a wider count of the same register. This table counts apartments only, as the supply guide does.
Timing
Every project has two dates, and neither is a promise
The date a developer files with DLD and the date its build pace points to can sit more than a year apart. Know which one you are planning around.
- Register date: the completion date the developer files with DLD. For recent Emaar projects, it matched the marketed handover date in 7 of the 8 I checked.
- 100% built: the day the DLD inspection first shows the building as fully built. A RERA approved consultant records this figure on site.
- Handover: when the developer starts giving keys to buyers. DLD does not publish this date.
- First new lease: the first Ejari contract in the building. It is the earliest public sign that owners have keys, and it came a median 1.9 months after 100% across 12 buildings.
Emaar finished all 8 of its Dubai Hills apartment projects started since 2022 before the register date, by a median 9.5 months. Other developers ran a median 7 months late. That is the record so far, not a promise.
Prices
How to read a Dubai Hills price
I keep live prices in the guides, where each figure carries its date and sample size. These five points hold whatever the market does.
- Compare like with like. A raw median moves when the mix of homes changes, so it can show a bigger fall or rise than prices made. Use sales of a similar home in the same building.
- Leave out part-share records. Some DLD rows show a full flat size next to a tiny price. They cover a share of a flat, not a sale.
- Set aside off-plan resales at exactly the original price. They may not show the price agreed. In projects still being built, more than half of recent resales look like this. In finished buildings, under 1% do.
- Treat asking prices as a ceiling. In September 2026, asks for ready flats sat 5% to 20% above registered sales, depending on the building and size.
- Check the building’s age. After March 2026, buildings finished from 2019 to 2023 took the price cut, while those finished since 2024 held close to their level.
Rents
How to read a Dubai Hills rent
- Two markets: Ejari marks every contract as a new lease or a renewal. Use the series that matches your contract, because the two can move far apart.
- The cap: under Decree No. 43 of 2013, a renewal can rise only if the rent sits more than 10% below the average for similar homes. The cap limits increases. It never forces a cut.
- The average: DLD publishes it through the Smart Rental Index, launched on 2 January 2025. Check your own unit before you rely on any tier.
- Notice: to change the terms, either side must give 90 days’ notice before the lease ends, unless both agreed otherwise (Law No. 26 of 2007, Article 14, as amended).
- Asking is not agreed: in August and October 2026, portal asks sat about 12% to 13% above signed rents for similar flats.
Off-plan
Off-plan in Dubai Hills is two different markets
Buying from the developer and buying an owner’s unfinished flat look alike on paper. In the record, they priced very differently against ready homes.
- Developer launches: across 11 buildings that got keys from 2023, sales two years or more before keys came in a median 3.9% above the building’s later ready price.
- Owner resales: in the last year before keys, they sold a median 8.1% below ready. After keys, resales traded about level with ready.
- The wait has a price: the rent you give up, less what your unpaid money earns. Every instalment you pay makes paying later worth less.
- Smaller loans: UAE Central Bank rules cap off-plan loans at 50% of value. On a finished first home under AED 5 million, an expat can borrow up to 80% and a UAE national up to 85%.
- Oqood, then title deed: until keys, your rights sit on the DLD interim register, known as Oqood. A resale before keys also needs the developer’s no objection certificate.
Keys and tenants
What keys change, and what they do not
Keys widen the pool of buyers and start the rent. They do not rescue a price if the market fell while you waited.
- Since 2023, 11 of 13 buildings beat the wider Dubai Hills resale market in the year after keys, by a median 4.9%. Buildings that got keys in 2019 and 2020 did not.
- The market over the wait decides most of an owner’s result. Keys add a few points on top.
- A new flat needs time to find its first tenant: a typical 5.2 months in towers handed over from 2019 to 2022, and 6.6 months in 2023 and 2024.
- Snag before you let. Under Law No. 6 of 2019, Article 40, the developer answers for faulty fittings for one year from handover and for structural defects for ten years from completion.
How I work on Dubai Hills
One advisor, whether you buy, sell, own or let
Two Dubai Hills homes of the same size can sit far apart on value, because of the building’s age, the wait to keys and how clean its record is. Here is what I do for you.
- If you are buying, I price the home on its own building’s registered sales, brought up to date.
- If you are weighing off-plan, I set the price against ready homes, with the wait to keys counted.
- If you are waiting for keys, I test your timing against what earlier buildings did at handover.
- If you are selling, I price to registered sales, not to the listing page.
- If you are letting, I set the rent from signed new leases in your project, not from asks.
- You deal with me, start to finish.
Questions
Dubai Hills Estate FAQ
Is Dubai Hills Estate freehold?
Yes. Dubai Hills Estate is freehold, so buyers of any nationality can own a home there outright. A home that is still being built is registered with the Dubai Land Department as an Oqood, and the title deed follows after completion and handover. On the DLD register, the estate sits inside Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid.
How many homes are being built in Dubai Hills Estate?
On the DLD register at 30 September 2026, 21 apartment projects with 8,743 homes were under construction. Of these, 2,305 were at least 65% built, 2,025 were 50% to 65% built and 4,413 were under 50% built. Counts taken in August differ a little, because some projects have since finished and the counts used different filters.
Is the DLD completion date reliable?
Treat it as one end of a range. Emaar finished all 8 of its Dubai Hills apartment projects started since 2022 before the register date, by a median 9.5 months. Other developers ran a median 7 months late. So check the latest inspection percentage and its date, not just the completion date.
How do I check if a Dubai Hills price is fair?
Find a registered sale of a similar home in the same building on DXB Interact, and match the bedrooms and size. Leave out part-share records and off-plan resales at exactly the original price. Then bring the sale up to date with a price index, and compare it with the asking price.
Can my landlord raise the rent at renewal in Dubai Hills?
Only within Decree No. 43 of 2013. If your rent is up to 10% below the average for similar homes on the DLD Smart Rental Index, no increase is allowed. Larger gaps allow 5% to 20%. To change the terms, either side must give 90 days’ notice before the lease ends, unless both agreed otherwise.
How much cheaper should off-plan be than ready in Dubai Hills?
It depends on the wait to keys and how much you still owe. On October 2026 numbers, the wait was worth about 1% to 4% with keys a year or less away (estimate). In the record, owner resales in the last year before keys sold a median 8.1% below the ready price.
How long does a new Dubai Hills flat take to find its first tenant?
In towers handed over from 2019 to 2022, a typical flat waited 5.2 months for its first tenant. In towers handed over in 2023 and 2024, it waited 6.6 months. Both counts cover flats rented within two years, so the true wait is longer. Budget empty months, not weeks.
Private consultation
Talk Dubai Hills through with me before you decide.
Tell me which building and unit you own, or which one you are looking at. I will come back to you with what similar homes actually registered or let at, what the wait to keys means, and the questions to ask. Every conversation stays private.