Off-plan buyers pay for a home they cannot yet walk through. The developer shows a model, a brochure and a launch price. One question puts that price to the test: what do similar homes sell for now?
What off-plan means
An off-plan home is one you buy before the building is finished, often before construction starts. You pay in stages, usually tied to progress on site, and you get the keys at handover. A ready home already exists. You can walk through it, measure it and sometimes see what a tenant pays.
Buyers pick off-plan for reasons such as a staged payment plan or a first choice of units. They pick ready homes to see exactly what they get, and to move in or rent out at once. Neither route is safer by nature, and each needs its own checks.
The question to ask about a launch price
Ask this: how does the launch price compare with what similar homes sell for today?
Look first inside the same project. If some buyers have already resold, those sales show what the market pays for the very same product. Then look nearby, at finished buildings of similar quality a short walk away. Use recorded sale prices, not advertised ones, because an advertised resale price shows what a seller wants and not what a buyer paid. To keep the comparison fair, do four things:
1. Convert every price to a price per square foot.
2. Match the size of the flat and the range of floors.
3. Use recent sales only, and note the date of each.
4. Allow for finish and fittings, which may differ.
Then state the gap as a percentage of the resale price. Buyers use dataHabibi, a Dubai property data platform, for this step: it lets them check launch prices against today’s values.
Here is the method with round figures that are not real. A launch price works out to AED 1,800 per square foot, and nearby finished towers of similar quality sell at AED 1,500. The launch price sits 20% above the going rate. That gap does not prove the price is wrong. It tells you what you are counting on: a better finish, a payment plan, a view or growth by handover. Decide whether each of those is worth the extra, and whether you can verify it.
The reverse case needs the same care. If the launch price sits below nearby resale values, ask why. The discount may pay for the wait, or it may come with conditions you have not yet read.
Where the comparison can mislead
· Unlike units. A “from” price describes the cheapest unit. Compare the same floors, sizes and views.
· Thin evidence. If two flats resold, those two prices may reflect a hurried seller or a lucky one.
· Different timing. A resale price is a price today. A launch price is for a home you will own in a few years, and the market can move up or down before then.
· Different terms. A payment plan changes what you pay and when. Compare the total and the schedule, not only the headline price.
· Different quality. A new tower may include fittings that an older building lacks, and the reverse can hold too.
None of these makes the comparison useless. Each tells you how much weight to give it.
What to review before you sign
Read these items with an adviser you trust:
· the payment schedule: how much, when, and what triggers each payment
· the handover date, and what the contract says if it slips
· what the price includes: size, floor, fittings and parking
· the developer’s record on earlier projects
· the yearly running costs the building is expected to carry
Write your questions down and ask for the answers in writing. A seller who answers plainly is giving you information. A seller who avoids a question is giving you information too.
This is general information, not advice. Ask a qualified local adviser to read the contract with you before you sign it.
A launch price looks ahead and a resale price looks back. Read both before you commit, and check the launch price of your chosen building against today’s values at datahabibi.ae.
