Dubai rental yield by area
Gross rental yield on ready flats in twelve Dubai communities, computed from registered DLD sales and Ejari new leases, January to September 2026. No estimates, no asking prices.
The areas, ranked by gross yield
Gross yield = median new-lease rent per sq ft ÷ median ready-flat price per sq ft. Ready flats only, so off-plan launch prices do not distort the figure. Tap an area for the full profile.
| Area | Ready-flat price, AED/sqft | Median rent, new flat lease | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Sports City | 978 | AED 54,000/yr | 8.2% |
| Dubai South | 1,078 | AED 57,500/yr | 7.6% |
| Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) | 1,273 | AED 67,000/yr | 7.4% |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) | 1,334 | AED 65,000/yr | 7.4% |
| Arjan | 1,364 | AED 62,000/yr | 7.2% |
| Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) | 1,432 | AED 85,000/yr | 7.2% |
| Business Bay | 1,839 | AED 90,000/yr | 6.4% |
| Downtown Dubai | 2,464 | AED 170,000/yr | 6.2% |
| Dubai Hills / MBR City | 2,296 | AED 110,000/yr | 5.9% |
| Dubai Marina | 1,891 | AED 120,000/yr | 5.8% |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 2,316 | AED 115,000/yr | 5.3% |
| Palm Jumeirah | 2,651 | AED 210,000/yr | 5.1% |
Source: Dubai Land Department open data, sales and new Ejari leases, 1 Jan–30 Sep 2026, retrieved 3 Oct 2026. Medians need at least 30 sales and 10 leases per area. Dubailand Residence Complex, Majan and Dubai Islands had too few new leases registered to show a rent figure. Method: sources and methodology.
What the gross figure hides
- Service charge. The owner pays it, and it comes straight off the rent. A typical band is AED 10–25 per sq ft per year, which removes roughly 1 to 2.5 points of yield. Ask for the building's Mollak figure before you compare areas.
- Vacancy and management. A month empty between tenants costs about 8% of the year's rent. Add management, maintenance and insurance for the net figure.
- The price you actually pay. These yields use ready-flat prices. Where most sales are off-plan — Dubai South was 95% off-plan in 2026 — buyers are paying launch prices, and the yield on that price is lower.
- A sitting tenant. If the flat is already let, the RERA rental index caps how far the rent can move at renewal. The new-lease medians above apply to a vacant unit.
From gross to net
The returns calculator deducts the 4% DLD fee and every other purchase cost, then service charge, vacancy and running costs, and shows net yield, cash flow, mortgage payments and IRR with every assumption visible.
Frequently asked questions
Which Dubai area has the highest rental yield?
Of the 15 communities profiled on this site, Dubai Sports City shows the highest gross yield on ready flats in 2026: 8.2%, from a median new-lease rent of AED 54,000 against a median ready-flat price of AED 978 per sq ft (DLD records, January to September 2026). Dubai South, JVC, JVT, Arjan and JLT all show 7.2% or more. These are gross figures before service charge, vacancy and management.
What is a good rental yield in Dubai?
On registered 2026 data, gross yields on ready flats across the profiled areas range from about 5% on Palm Jumeirah to 8.2% in Dubai Sports City. Above 6% gross is strong for an established area. Judge the net figure: service charges of AED 10–25 per sq ft per year, vacancy and management commonly remove 1.5 to 3 points from the gross number.
Is gross yield the same as net yield?
No. Gross yield is annual rent divided by purchase price. Net yield deducts service charges, vacancy, management, maintenance and insurance. The area figures on this page are gross, computed from median new-lease rents and median ready-flat prices in DLD records. Use the returns calculator with the building's actual Mollak service charge for a net figure.
Why is the yield on my off-plan purchase lower than the area figure?
The figures here divide rent by the median ready-flat price. Off-plan launch prices are usually higher per sq ft than ready resales in the same area, and you earn no rent until handover. In Dubai South, for example, 95% of 2026 registered sales were off-plan, so most buyers there paid more than the ready-flat median the 7.6% figure is based on. Always compute the yield on the price you are actually paying — the offer check does this for a specific unit.