Bluewaters Island, Dubai: a buyer's guide to the homes, prices and life on the island (2026)

Bluewaters Island is a man-made island by Meraas just off the Jumeirah Beach Residence coast, with Ain Dubai, hotels, a run of shops and restaurants, and two residential projects. This guide is for buyers looking at a home on the island: what is there, how you buy when both projects are sold out, how the off-plan tower is progressing, and what living there costs.

Bluewaters has no separate area page on OffPlan Insider. Its developer is on our Meraas page, and the neighbouring districts are on our Dubai Marina, Dubai Harbour and Palm Jumeirah pages.

Bluewaters is a man-made island off the JBR beachfront, beside Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah. Meraas, a developer that is part of Dubai Holding Real Estate, built it as a mixed island of homes, hotels, retail and attractions.

The island's landmark is Ain Dubai, the observation wheel, which Meraas gives as 250 m high. Around it are Banyan Tree Dubai at Bluewaters, Madame Tussauds Dubai, entertainment venues, boutiques, galleries and a waterfront line of restaurants, several opening onto the beach.

Meraas also built City Walk, La Mer, Port de La Mer, Dubai Design District and The Beach at JBR, the beachfront the island faces. Its current homes for sale are on our Meraas developer page.

There are two residential projects, both by Meraas. Bluewaters Residences is finished and lived in; Bluewaters Bay is under construction.

Bluewaters Residences. Ten mid-rise buildings with 698 apartments of one to four bedrooms, four five-bedroom penthouses and 17 townhouses. Handovers began in 2018. Meraas lists infinity pools with sea views, an indoor pool, fitness centres, a tennis court, a beach club, an elevated community garden, running paths and a ferry dock.

Bluewaters Bay. Two residential towers joined by a podium, at the entrance to the island, with 678 apartments of one to four bedrooms including penthouses. The podium holds shops and restaurants, and the project adds a landscaped promenade, an outdoor pool, a children's play area and barbecue areas. It extends Marina Walk and the Bluewaters boardwalk.

Both projects are listed as sold out by Meraas. That changes how you buy, which the next sections cover.

Only from another buyer. Bluewaters Bay is the island's one off-plan project, and it sold out, so you would take over an existing buyer's contract by assignment before handover.

How Bluewaters Bay is progressing. Meraas awarded the main construction contract, worth over AED 1 billion, to China State Construction Engineering Corporation (Middle East) in January 2025, with completion scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. On 14 September 2026 Meraas's internal inspection put progress at 40.88%. RERA's inspection on 25 August 2026 recorded 36.97%. The first tower had passed its 50th level and the second was above its 40th.

Why the two figures differ. The developer and the regulator inspect on different dates and weight the work differently. RERA's figure is the one tied to escrow releases, and you can follow it yourself in the Dubai Land Department's Project Status service. Our guide to checking an off-plan project shows how.

What an assignment means for you. You pay the seller what they have paid so far, plus any premium agreed between you, and you take on the rest of the payment plan with Meraas. A fresh 4% DLD fee is due on the transfer. Ask the seller for the statement of account and the remaining schedule before you agree a price.

The full process, with typical fees, is in selling off-plan before handover, which covers both sides of an assignment.

Every Bluewaters home is now bought from an owner, through the usual Dubai resale route: agree terms, get the developer's no objection certificate, then transfer the home at a Dubai Land Department trustee office.

1. Agree the terms. The price, deposit and completion date go into Form F, the RERA memorandum of understanding signed by buyer and seller.
2. The developer's no objection certificate. Meraas confirms the seller owes nothing on service charges or instalments and issues an NOC for the transfer.
3. The mortgage, if you borrow. The bank values the home and lends against its own valuation. Central Bank rules cap lending on an off-plan home at 50% of its value. On a finished home a first-time expatriate buyer can borrow up to 80% under AED 5 million and 70% above it.
4. The transfer. Buyer and seller, or their representatives, complete at a Dubai Land Department trustee office, where the 4% DLD fee is paid.
5. The registration. A finished Bluewaters Residences home is issued a new title deed in your name. A Bluewaters Bay home stays on the interim register, Oqood, updated to your name, until completion.

Our guide to off-plan mortgages in the UAE explains the lending limits, and the true cost of buying off-plan lists every fee.

Prices on Bluewaters are set owner by owner, so today's figures are on request. Bluewaters Bay was offered from AED 2.85 million, and the island sits at the top of the Dubai Marina and JBR market.

When you compare homes, look at:

• The building and the view. Sea, Ain Dubai, Dubai Marina skyline or podium views carry different prices within the same building.
• The amount still due. On a Bluewaters Bay assignment, what you pay the seller and what you still owe Meraas are two separate numbers. Add them before comparing with a finished home.
• The price per square foot. Compare like with like, not headline prices across different layouts.
• The service charge. Check the building's approved rate on the Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index.

If your budget is AED 2 million or more, the home's value can count towards the ten-year Golden Visa. The rules are in the Golden Visa and UAE property.

By car over the road bridge, on foot from The Beach at JBR, or by water taxi and ferry from Dubai Marina Mall. There is no Metro station on the island.

On foot. Meraas gives a 10-minute walk from the homes to The Beach at JBR and a 5-minute walk from Bluewaters Bay to Ain Dubai. The Dubai Tram stops at JBR on the mainland side and links to the Red Line.

By car. The road bridge links the island to the mainland road network towards Sheikh Zayed Road. Meraas gives about 5 minutes to Dubai Marina, 10 minutes to Palm Jumeirah, 15 minutes to Downtown Dubai and 30 minutes to Dubai International. Bluewaters Bay has two vehicle entrances, one at ground level and one on the third podium level, reached by a ramp from the Bluewaters bridge.

By water. The RTA runs the water taxi route BM3 between Dubai Marina Mall and Bluewaters Marine Station, at AED 7, and the Dubai Ferry route FR2 between the same two stations. Bluewaters Residences also lists a ferry dock.

It is a resort island with homes on it. You live among hotels, restaurants and attractions, with the beach and the JBR promenade across the walkway.

Inside the community. Pools, gyms, a tennis court, running paths, a beach club and landscaped gardens belong to the residential buildings. Meraas also lists meditation zones, cycling tracks, a children's park and residents' access to the beach.

On the island. Restaurants and cafés with waterfront terraces, boutiques and galleries, Madame Tussauds Dubai and family entertainment venues. Visitors come for the island's attractions, so expect busy evenings and weekends.

Everyday needs. Larger supermarkets, schools, hospitals and clinics are on the mainland in Dubai Marina, JBR and the districts beyond. Check schools' ratings and fees on the KHDA website before you buy for a family.

Who it tends to suit. Buyers who want a finished waterfront home and a walkable resort setting, couples and smaller households, and owners who value a short drive to Dubai Marina and the business districts on Sheikh Zayed Road. Families with school-age children should map the school run first.

Yes. Homes on Bluewaters are owned freehold by buyers of any nationality, resident or not, and every sale is registered with the Dubai Land Department.

A finished home in Bluewaters Residences has a title deed. A Bluewaters Bay home is registered on the interim register, Oqood, until the building is complete and the home is paid for, when a title deed is issued.

Our guide to whether foreigners can buy property in the UAE explains freehold areas and title, and what happens at handover covers the move from Oqood to title deed.

Beyond the price you pay the 4% DLD fee and transfer fees once, then service charges, cooling and utilities every year. The approved service charge for each building is on request and listed on the Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index.

• Service charges. Set per square foot, approved by RERA and invoiced through the Mollak system. Ask the seller for the latest invoice and check that nothing is outstanding before the NOC is issued.
• Cooling. Ask how cooling is supplied and billed in the building and whether a separate account is needed.
• Master community charges. Ask whether an island-wide charge applies on top of the building's service charge.
• Furnishing and letting. If you plan to let the home, a long-term let is registered on Ejari. A holiday let needs a permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism and the building's consent.

Every cost is in the true cost of buying off-plan.

None on the island itself, since both Bluewaters projects are sold out. Meraas is selling elsewhere in Dubai, and the districts across the water have new launches of their own.

This table lists Meraas's current projects on OffPlan Insider and updates as we add or revise them. Sold-out projects drop out.

Nearby, the closest new-build waterfront stock is in Dubai Harbour, Dubai Marina and on Palm Jumeirah. For another Meraas beachfront, see La Mer and Jumeirah Asora Bay. New projects across the city are on our new launches page, and branded homes on the branded residences page.

1. Finished or off-plan. Decide whether you want a Bluewaters Residences home now or a Bluewaters Bay home from late 2027.
2. The NOC. Ask Meraas, before you sign Form F, what it needs to issue an NOC and what it costs.
3. The money still owed. On an assignment, get the statement of account and the remaining schedule from the seller.
4. Progress. Check RERA's latest completion percentage in the Dubai Land Department's Project Status service.
5. The service charge. Look up the building's approved rate on the Service Charge Index.
6. The view and noise. Visit in the evening and at the weekend, when the island is busiest.
7. The school run. If you have children, map the drive to schools on the mainland.
8. Your lender. Get mortgage approval in principle before you pay a deposit.

• Meraas. The developer of Bluewaters, part of Dubai Holding Real Estate.
• Assignment. Taking over an off-plan buyer's contract with the developer before handover.
• NOC. The developer's no objection certificate, needed before any resale or assignment is registered.
• Form F. The RERA memorandum of understanding between buyer and seller.
• Oqood. The Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan homes.
• Service Charge Index. The Dubai Land Department's public list of approved service charges by building.

For Meraas's current launches, see the Meraas developer page. For homes in the districts around the island, start with Dubai Marina and Dubai Harbour, and for how waterfront districts compare, read our guide to Dubai's areas and districts.

Tell us whether you want a finished Bluewaters home or a Bluewaters Bay assignment, with your budget, and we will check what is available today and what each one still owes.