Dubai Rental Yield Index

Name: Dubai Rental Yield Index
Creator: SMS Realty
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Rental yields for 51 Dubai communities by apartment size, built from Dubai Land Department sales and Ejari rent contracts, with the yield left after 2026 service charges. Updated October 2026.

Key findings

What the data shows

7.0%

Median gross yield for 1-bedroom apartments across the communities in the index. Studios: 7.8%. 2-bedroom: 5.9%.

~1 point

How much 2026 service charges typically cut from a 1-bedroom gross yield.

2.0 vs 0.6

Percentage points lost to service charges in International City Phase 1 versus Palm Jumeirah (1-bedroom).

8.9% → 6.9%

International City Phase 1, 1-bedroom: one of the highest gross yields, but much of the lead disappears after service charges.

Rental yields by community

Medians for the 12 months to 9 October 2026. Yield after service charges is shown where a 2026 service charge figure exists for the community.

Sort by

Community	Median price	Price / sq ft	Median rent / year	Gross yield	Service charge / sq ft	Yield after service charges
Downtown Jebel Ali	AED 1,055,939	AED 1,498	AED 58,000	9.28%	—	—
International City Phase 1	AED 465,000	AED 626	AED 40,000	8.89%	AED 12.8	6.85%
Dubai Investment Park Second	AED 581,609	AED 700	AED 50,000	8.60%	—	—
International Media Production Zone	AED 1,067,198	AED 1,308	AED 56,000	8.55%	—	—
Liwan 1	AED 920,000	AED 1,126	AED 50,000	8.06%	AED 12.9	6.91%
Remraam	AED 682,500	AED 932	AED 55,000	8.06%	—	—
Dubai Sports City	AED 1,010,500	AED 1,257	AED 56,000	8.00%	AED 15.7	6.75%
Dubai Land Residence Complex	AED 1,041,138	AED 1,303	AED 51,000	7.85%	—	—
Motor City	AED 1,150,000	AED 1,778	AED 72,000	7.76%	AED 15.7	6.88%
Discovery Gardens	AED 795,000	AED 887	AED 59,799	7.66%	AED 16.0	5.86%
Dubai Studio City	AED 1,017,000	AED 1,434	AED 65,000	7.63%	AED 18.7	6.33%
Dubai Silicon Oasis	AED 880,000	AED 1,010	AED 54,988	7.53%	AED 13.8	6.16%
DAMAC Hills 2	AED 660,000	AED 1,184	AED 48,000	7.27%	—	—
International City Phase 3	AED 850,823	AED 1,111	AED 49,000	7.26%	AED 13.7	6.03%
Majan	AED 1,100,000	AED 1,369	AED 58,000	7.25%	AED 14.5	6.19%
Jumeirah Village Triangle	AED 1,244,999	AED 1,620	AED 70,000	7.22%	AED 18.6	6.07%
Dubai South Residential District	AED 1,026,027	AED 1,405	AED 53,000	7.19%	AED 17.2	5.97%
Town Square	AED 1,039,444	AED 1,638	AED 60,000	7.14%	AED 15.4	6.20%
DMCC Master Community	AED 1,290,414	AED 1,486	AED 80,000	7.11%	AED 16.4	6.01%
Jumeirah Village Circle	AED 1,115,308	AED 1,438	AED 70,000	7.00%	AED 16.6	5.85%
Arjan	AED 1,181,800	AED 1,526	AED 68,000	7.00%	AED 15.7	5.97%
DAMAC Hills	AED 1,236,000	AED 1,773	AED 70,000	7.00%	—	—
Rukan	AED 960,000	AED 1,420	AED 67,000	6.98%	—	—
Jumeirah Lakes Towers	AED 1,550,000	AED 1,785	AED 85,000	6.97%	AED 16.4	6.05%
Al Furjan	AED 1,100,000	AED 1,384	AED 68,355	6.84%	AED 13.9	5.84%
Dubai Science Park	AED 1,439,500	AED 1,568	AED 70,000	6.80%	AED 16.8	5.73%
Meydan Racecourse Community	AED 2,323,500	AED 2,713	AED 80,000	6.73%	AED 19.1	6.03%
MBR City District One	AED 1,522,486	AED 1,922	AED 100,000	6.58%	—	—
Meydan One Community	AED 1,378,800	AED 2,061	AED 75,000	6.44%	AED 19.1	5.51%
Warsan First	AED 830,050	AED 1,211	AED 50,000	6.41%	—	—
Sobha Hartland	AED 1,408,900	AED 2,099	AED 86,000	6.23%	AED 18.0	5.37%
The Greens	AED 1,500,000	AED 1,836	AED 90,000	6.04%	AED 14.9	5.23%
Dubai Health Care City Phase 2	AED 1,449,999	AED 1,880	AED 75,000	5.92%	—	—
Dubai Hills Estate	AED 1,738,888	AED 2,366	AED 90,000	5.88%	AED 18.5	5.10%
Business Bay	AED 1,900,000	AED 2,333	AED 85,000	5.86%	AED 20.0	5.00%
City Walk	AED 2,720,000	AED 3,318	AED 146,440	5.86%	—	—
Wasl 1	AED 1,858,777	AED 2,199	AED 105,000	5.83%	AED 15.7	5.12%
Dubai Marina	AED 1,620,000	AED 2,021	AED 90,000	5.66%	AED 16.3	4.85%
Dubai Investment Park First	AED 820,900	AED 1,203	AED 60,000	5.66%	—	—
Dubai Creek Harbour	AED 1,953,888	AED 2,605	AED 98,000	5.65%	AED 21.1	4.84%
Jaddaf Waterfront	AED 1,359,640	AED 1,872	AED 70,000	5.65%	—	—
Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)	AED 1,800,000	AED 1,783	AED 100,000	5.56%	AED 20.1	4.43%
Jumeirah Garden City	AED 1,609,804	AED 2,163	AED 73,000	5.35%	—	—
Palm Jumeirah	AED 3,448,211	AED 2,701	AED 147,000	5.30%	AED 15.8	4.71%
Downtown Dubai	AED 2,375,000	AED 2,729	AED 115,000	5.23%	AED 19.0	4.53%
La Mer	AED 2,300,000	AED 2,825	AED 120,000	5.22%	—	—
Dubai Harbour	AED 3,100,000	AED 3,523	AED 130,000	5.20%	—	—

Download CSV123 rows · 51 communities · free to reuse with credit

For journalists and researchers

Cite this data

You are welcome to use these figures in articles, reports and research. Please credit SMS Realty and link to this page. For a comment or a custom cut of the data, contact us.

Citation

SMS Realty, Dubai Rental Yield Index (October 2026), based on Dubai Land Department sales and Ejari rent data. https://sms-realty.com/dubai-rental-yield-index

Link (HTML)

<a href="https://sms-realty.com/dubai-rental-yield-index">Dubai Rental Yield Index by SMS Realty</a>

Methodology

Prices are medians of registered sales of ready (completed) homes recorded by the Dubai Land Department over the last 12 complete months, with outliers outside the 1st to 99th percentile removed.
Rents are medians of Ejari residential tenancy contracts over the same period.
Gross yield is median annual rent divided by median price within the same property type and bedroom count, so studios are never mixed with larger homes.
Service charges are the 2026 median rate per sq ft for each community, from RERA-approved owners association budgets in the DLD service charge register (general and reserve fund, residential).
Yield after service charges subtracts the service charge per sq ft divided by the median price per sq ft. It is an estimate: it excludes vacancy, maintenance, agency and management fees, and individual buildings vary.
Sample size: a row is shown only where there were at least 50 sales and 200 rent contracts in the period.

Sources and licence

Aggregates from Dubai Data (Continental Club Property), published under CC BY 4.0, based on Dubai Land Department open data, data through 9 October 2026. Service charge and net yield calculations by SMS Realty. This is not an official Dubai Land Department product. Figures are for information only and are not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions

Which Dubai area has the highest rental yield in 2026?

For 1-bedroom apartments, the highest gross yields in this index are in affordable communities such as Downtown Jebel Ali, International City Phase 1 and Dubai Investment Park Second, at roughly 8.6% to 9.3%. After 2026 service charges, Liwan 1, Motor City and International City Phase 1 lead at about 6.9%.

What is a good rental yield in Dubai?

Across the communities in this index, the median gross yield is about 7.8% for studios, 7.0% for 1-bedroom and 5.9% for 2-bedroom apartments. Anything above those medians is strong, but compare yields after service charges and other costs.

How much do service charges reduce rental yield in Dubai?

For a typical 1-bedroom apartment in this index, 2026 service charges reduce the gross yield by about 1 percentage point. The reduction ranges from about 0.6 points in Palm Jumeirah to about 2 points in International City Phase 1.

How is the rental yield calculated?

Gross yield is the median annual rent from Ejari contracts divided by the median price of ready homes sold, within the same property type and bedroom count. The yield after service charges subtracts the community median service charge per sq ft divided by the median price per sq ft.

Can I use this data in an article?

Yes. Please credit SMS Realty and link to this page. The underlying aggregates are published under CC BY 4.0 by Dubai Data, based on Dubai Land Department open data.