Dubai areas and districts: a buyer's guide to where new homes are being built (2026)

Dubai is easier to understand as a set of areas than as one city. Each has its own price level, its own mix of apartments and villas, and its own distance from the places you will travel to every day. Choosing the area well matters more than choosing the building.

This guide covers the Dubai areas and districts where new homes are being built. We track off-plan projects in 30 of them. The project counts, starting prices and latest projects below come from that data and change whenever we add or update a project.

• Areas with new homes on our tracker: 30 in Dubai (October 2026).
• Most projects: Dubailand, 46 projects.
• Lowest starting price we track: Downtown Jebel Ali, from AED 550K.
• Most villa and townhouse projects: Dubailand, 17 projects.

Jump to: the map and full table, how the city is laid out, areas by budget and home type, how to choose.

The map shows roughly where each area sits. The coast runs from Jebel Ali in the south-west to Deira in the north-east.

The table lists every area, with the most projects first.

A note on names. People use area and district for the same thing: a named part of the city. A community is usually a master-planned development inside an area, built by one master developer. Our area guides and community pages follow that split.

Most areas with new homes fall into one of five groups.

1. Coast and islands

Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Islands, Dubai Maritime City, Rashid Yachts & Marina, La Mer, Dubai Marina, Palm Jebel Ali and, just inland of the Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers.

These are beachfront and marina addresses. Homes are mostly apartments in towers, with a small number of villas on the islands. Starting prices are the highest in the city.

2. City centre and creek

Business Bay, Zabeel, Al Jaddaf, Dubai Creek Harbour, Jumeirah Garden City and Ras Al Khor.

These sit beside Downtown and along Dubai Creek. Almost everything is an apartment. Business Bay has the most projects of any central area, many of them branded residences. Al Jaddaf is on the Metro Green Line and starts lower.

3. Inland master communities

Dubai Hills Estate, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Jumeirah Village Circle, Motor City, Dubai Sports City and Arjan.

These are planned neighbourhoods a short drive inland, with parks, schools and shops built in. They mix apartments with some townhouses and villas. Prices range widely, from studios in Jumeirah Village Circle to golf-course homes in Dubai Hills Estate.

4. The south

Dubai South, Downtown Jebel Ali, Al Furjan and Dubai Investments Park.

This is the city's main direction of growth, towards Al Maktoum International Airport. Starting prices are among the lowest, and Dubai South also has a large supply of townhouses. Downtown Jebel Ali is on the Metro Red Line, and Dubai South is on its Route 2020 branch.

5. Out-of-town villa corridors

Dubailand, Dubai–Al Ain Road, Nad Al Sheba and Academic City.

These are where most new villas and townhouses are. Plots are larger than nearer the centre. Expect to drive for most things.

Each entry gives what the area is, what we track there, the main developers and the projects we updated most recently.

1. Dubailand

A large Dubai development zone of separate master communities, one of the city’s biggest off-plan pipelines, between Al Khail Road and Emirates Road.

• On our tracker: 46 projects, from AED 563K.
• Homes: apartments, villas, townhouses, duplexes.
• Main developers: DAMAC Properties, Aldar Properties, Sobha Realty.
• Communities inside it: Dubailand Residence Complex, Sobha Sanctuary, Tilal Al Ghaf.
• Latest updates: Belgravia Gardens, Morocco Phase 2 at DAMAC Lagoons, Sobha Elwood.

Dubailand area guide: all projects, prices and map

2. Dubai South

Dubai's south-western expansion zone around Al Maktoum International: freehold, on the Red Line's Route 2020 branch, and priced on an AED 128bn airport whose first phase opens in 2032.

• On our tracker: 32 projects, from AED 633K.
• Homes: apartments, townhouses, villas, duplexes.
• Main developers: Emaar Properties, Expo City Dubai, Azizi Developments.
• Communities inside it: Emaar South, Expo Valley.
• Latest updates: Samana South Haven 2, Cresswell Homes, Azizi Venice 6.

Dubai South area guide: all projects, prices and map

3. Business Bay

Dubai’s most-searched off-plan address: 4.36 sq km beside Downtown on the Dubai Canal, with new launches at Marasi Bay.

• On our tracker: 20 projects, from AED 1.3M.
• Homes: apartments, branded residences, penthouses, duplexes.
• Main developers: DAMAC Properties, Binghatti Developers, Danube Properties.
• Latest updates: Burj Binghatti Jacob & Co Residences, Bugatti Residences by Binghatti, Binghatti Skyhall.

Business Bay area guide: all projects, prices and map

4. Dubai Islands

Nakheel's five-island reclamation off Deira, formerly Deira Islands: 18.6 sq km, 21km of beachfront, and a plan for 49,000 homes and 231,000 residents.

• On our tracker: 17 projects, from AED 1.67M.
• Homes: apartments, duplexes, penthouses, townhouses.
• Main developers: Imtiaz Developments, Nakheel, Arsenal East.
• Latest updates: The Meriva Collection, Sea Cliff by Imtiaz, Sunset Bay Grand by Imtiaz.

Dubai Islands area guide: all projects, prices and map

5. Mohammed Bin Rashid City

The address between Downtown and Ras Al Khor that covers District One, Sobha Hartland, Meydan One and Meydan Horizon, with lagoon living minutes from the city centre.

• On our tracker: 14 projects, from AED 1.07M.
• Homes: apartments, villas, duplexes, penthouses.
• Main developers: Ellington Properties, Sobha Realty, Azizi Developments.
• Latest updates: Riverton House, The Highgrove, Riverside Crescent at Sobha Hartland II.

Mohammed Bin Rashid City area guide: all projects, prices and map

6. Al Jaddaf

The inland bend of Dubai Creek between Bur Dubai and Ras Al Khor: freehold, on the Green Line, next to Dubai Healthcare City, and one of the few central districts still adding towers.

• On our tracker: 13 projects, from AED 750K.
• Homes: apartments, penthouses.
• Main developers: Binghatti Developers, Azizi Developments, HRE Development.
• Latest updates: Binghatti Ghost, Binghatti Starlight, Binghatti Cullinan.

Al Jaddaf area guide: all projects, prices and map

7. Dubai Creek Harbour

Emaar's creekside community next to the Ras Al Khor flamingo sanctuary: a marina, promenades, branded hotels and a steady run of apartment launches, with a Dubai Metro extension on the way.

• On our tracker: 13 projects, from AED 1.79M.
• Homes: apartments, townhouses, branded residences, penthouses.
• Main developers: Emaar Properties.
• Latest updates: Aeon at Dubai Creek Harbour, Albero, Altan.

Dubai Creek Harbour area guide: all projects, prices and map

8. Dubai Hills Estate

Emaar's 'green heart of Dubai': a 2,700-acre golf community with Dubai Hills Park, Dubai Hills Mall, three schools and 54 km of cycle routes.

• On our tracker: 12 projects, from AED 1.4M.
• Homes: apartments, townhouses, branded residences, villas.
• Main developers: Emaar Properties.
• Latest updates: Park Gate 2 at Dubai Hills Estate, Club Place at Dubai Hills Estate, Golf Hillside at Dubai Hills Estate.

Dubai Hills Estate area guide: all projects, prices and map

9. Downtown Jebel Ali

A mainland Sheikh Zayed Road district at the southern end of Dubai, on the Metro Red Line, close to Al Maktoum International and Expo City.

• On our tracker: 10 projects, from AED 550K.
• Homes: apartments, penthouses.
• Main developers: Azizi Developments, Imtiaz Developments, Samana Developers.
• Latest updates: Samana Downtown One, Downtown Jabal Ali, Azizi Abraham.

Downtown Jebel Ali area guide: all projects, prices and map

10. Jumeirah Village Circle

The most liquid community in Dubai with 18,782 transactions in 2025, the largest supply pipeline, and service charges that double between older and newer buildings.

• On our tracker: 10 projects, from AED 592K.
• Homes: apartments, penthouses, duplexes.
• Main developers: Binghatti Developers, Danube Properties, Azizi Developments.
• Latest updates: Gharbi II Residences, Binghatti Grove, Binghatti Amberhall.

Jumeirah Village Circle area guide: all projects, prices and map

11. Al Furjan

Al Furjan is a family community in the west of Dubai, a master development of villas, townhouses and low and mid-rise apartments between Sheikh Zayed Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road. The Metro Red Line branch to Expo City runs along it, with stations at Al Furjan and The Gardens, and Ibn Battuta Mall is five minutes away. Danube Properties has delivered several buildings here and is now building Sparklz by Danube, with homes from AED 900,000.

• On our tracker: 8 projects, from AED 586K.
• Homes: apartments.
• Main developers: Azizi Developments, Danube Properties, Nabni Developments.
• Latest updates: Azizi Jewel, Azizi Raffi, Azizi Amir.

Al Furjan area guide: all projects, prices and map

12. Dubai Investments Park

A 3,200-hectare mixed-use district on the south-western edge of Dubai between Jebel Ali and the Expo corridor, built as industrial and logistics land and now taking housing.

• On our tracker: 7 projects, from AED 795K.
• Homes: villas, townhouses, apartments.
• Main developers: Emaar Properties, DAMAC Properties.
• Communities inside it: Grand Polo Club & Resort.
• Latest updates: Chevalia Estate 2 at Grand Polo Club & Resort, Selvara 3 at Grand Polo Club & Resort, Selvara 4 at Grand Polo Club & Resort.

Dubai Investments Park area guide: all projects, prices and map

Starting prices differ by more than ten times between the lowest and highest areas.

The chart shows October 2026. This table is built from today's data, and shows which areas have the most projects for each need.

How to read it:

• Under AED 1 million. Mostly studios and one-bedroom apartments. See the cheapest off-plan apartments in Dubai, ranked by price, and projects under AED 1 million.
• A villa or townhouse. A handful of areas hold most of the supply. See off-plan villas in Dubai and townhouses.
• A branded residence. These cluster in the centre and on the coast. See branded residences.
• Keys soon. Handover dates vary by project, not by area. Start from projects handing over in 2027.

A starting price is the smallest home in the lowest-priced project in that area. It tells you where an area begins, not what most homes there cost.

Five questions, answered in order, take the list from about thirty areas to three or four.

1. What is the budget? Use the table above. Set the budget on the total cost, not the price alone: see the true cost of buying off-plan.
2. Apartment, townhouse or villa? This removes whole groups of areas at once. The centre and the coast are apartments; houses are inland and in the south.
3. Where will you travel each day? Check the drive to work and to school at the time you would make it, and the nearest Metro station. For families, communities near good schools lists the options.
4. When do you need the keys? A home handed over in 2029 does not help if you need to move in 2027. Filter by handover year.
5. Living in it or letting it? If the home is for rent, compare yields and service charges by area in the best areas in Dubai for rental yield.

Then compare projects, not just areas. Two buildings in the same district can differ in developer, payment plan and handover date. Our guide to the top developers in Dubai covers who builds where, and payment plans compares how projects are paid for.

Foreign buyers can own freehold property in the areas Dubai has designated for it. The areas in this guide are where developers sell new homes to international buyers, but confirm that the specific project is freehold before you reserve.

The rules, and how they differ in other emirates, are in Can foreigners buy property in the UAE?

Tell us your budget, the home type and where you need to be each day, and we will send a shortlist across the areas that fit, with today's availability checked for each project.