Luxury Apartments for Sale in Dubai
Price Bands, Prime Addresses and Branded Residences
“Luxury” in Dubai spans a range wide enough to be useless as a word — the gap between the cheapest prime apartment and the most expensive is a factor of nearly thirty. This guide sets out the real price bands from current TruHauz asking prices, names the addresses that command them, explains what a branded residence buys, and sets prime against the Q3 2026 market data.
What “Luxury” Actually Costs, Band by Band
The figures below are asking prices from TruHauz’s own live listings, read on 19 October 2026. Each is the price the unit or project is listed from, so treat them as entry points to a building rather than averages for an area. We have not estimated, rounded or extrapolated any of them.
| Band | Listed from | Example on TruHauz |
|---|---|---|
| Entry prime | AED 5,320,000 | Vida Residence Downtown by Emaar, Downtown Dubai |
| Core prime | AED 7,900,000 to AED 23,000,000 | Vitalia Palm Jumeirah Residences by Pinnacle Developers |
| Upper prime | AED 10,399,548 to AED 67,999,548 | LIV Lux by LIV Developers, Dubai Marina |
| Upper prime | AED 11,000,000 to AED 38,000,000 | Address Grand Downtown |
| Super prime | AED 26,182,000 to AED 59,816,000 | The Ritz-Carlton Residences Dubai, Al Jaddaf |
| Super prime | AED 51,059,400 to AED 61,815,600 | Orla, Dorchester Collection by Omniyat, Palm Jumeirah |
| Trophy | AED 88,000,000 to AED 175,000,000 | Serenia Living by Palma Holding, Palm Jumeirah |
| Trophy | AED 155,000,000 | The LANA Residences by Omniyat, Business Bay |
Two conclusions follow. The entry point to genuine prime stock sits in the mid single-digit millions — below roughly AED 5 million you are buying a good apartment in a strong location rather than a prime one. And the spread within one building is often as wide as the spread between buildings: LIV Lux is listed from AED 10.4 million and runs to nearly AED 68 million, which is floor, aspect and layout doing the work rather than postcode.
The Addresses That Command Prime Pricing
Four districts account for most of Dubai’s prime apartment supply, and they are not interchangeable.
The deepest trophy market. Como Residences by Nakheel is listed from AED 52,920,800, Ellington Ocean House from AED 31,855,828 and Armani Beach Residences by Arada from AED 21,000,000. See our Palm Jumeirah guide.
The densest cluster of branded towers. Bugatti Residences by Binghatti is listed from AED 19,500,000 and Baccarat Residences Downtown from AED 20,155,571 to AED 32,208,904.
Canal frontage at a discount to Downtown. Peninsula Four – The Plaza by Select Group is listed from AED 7,162,000 and Waldorf Astoria Residences from AED 10,000,000, delivery stated Q4 2029.
The most liquid prime resale market in the city. Habtoor Grand Residences is listed from AED 10,522,798 and Bluewaters Bay by Meraas at AED 50,910,000. See our Dubai Marina guide.
Very little apartment stock, which is the point. Solaya at La Mer by Meraas is listed from AED 16.56 million for an average two-bedroom, to AED 113,950,000, delivery stated April 2030.
A newer prime pocket. One Canal Residences by AHS Properties is listed from AED 30,000,000 to AED 65,000,000 and Central Park Plaza by Meraas at AED 31,750,000.
What the Name on the Door Is Actually Buying
Dubai has one of the world’s deepest branded-residence markets, and the category needs splitting. A hotel-operated residence — Ritz-Carlton, Address, Raffles, Waldorf Astoria — typically means hotel-grade service, managed amenities and often a rental programme run by the operator. A fashion or automotive brand licence — Armani, Bugatti, Cavalli, Baccarat — buys design, specification and scarcity, but not necessarily an operator standing behind the service.
The distinction changes what you are underwriting. With a hotel operator, part of your service charge funds a standard that is contractually defined and, if it slips, identifiable. With a licensed design brand, the premium rests on the building’s own management. Neither is better; they are different risks, and should be priced differently.
| Residence | Listed from | Developer and delivery |
|---|---|---|
| The Ritz-Carlton Residences Dubai | AED 26,182,000 | Khamas Group · stated Q4 2023 |
| Raffles The Palm Dubai | AED 16,467,777 | Emerald Palace Group · stated Q4 2024 |
| Waldorf Astoria Residences | AED 10,000,000 | Nabni · stated Q4 2029 |
| Address Grand Downtown | AED 11,000,000 | Stated Q3 2028 |
| Orla, Dorchester Collection | AED 51,059,400 | Omniyat · stated Q4 2026 |
| Armani Beach Residences | AED 21,000,000 | Arada · stated December 2026 |
| Bugatti Residences | AED 19,500,000 | Binghatti · stated Q2 2026 |
| Baccarat Residences Downtown | AED 20,155,571 | H and H Development · stated June 2027 |
Prices and stated delivery dates are from the TruHauz listings linked above, read on 19 October 2026. Delivery quarters are as the developer states them, not a guarantee — where a date has passed, the project is either delivered or delayed, which is a question to ask before you offer. See our guides to handover delays and the 2026–27 handover wave.
We have not published a figure for the price premium a brand commands over an unbranded equivalent. Estimates circulate, but we could not source one to a named research house for the Dubai market specifically, so the number is omitted rather than approximated.
Prime Held Up While the Broader Market Softened
From Savills Middle East’s Dubai Residential Market in Minutes for Q3 2026, as reported by Economy Middle East on 13 October 2026, and from the Knight Frank index cited in our September 2026 market report.
Prime apartments, per sq ft
Up 4% year on year in Q3 2026. Prime villas and townhouses rose 3.6% to AED 2,791 per sq ft over the same period.
All-market apartments, per sq ft
Down 4.8% quarter on quarter, with villas and townhouses at AED 1,523, down 3.3% — a divergence between prime and mainstream.
Deals above AED 10m
Recorded in Q3 2026, against 871 in the previous quarter — fewer transactions, but at firmer prices per square foot.
That combination — prime prices up year on year, the all-market average down quarter on quarter, high-value transaction counts falling — is what a selective market looks like. Andrew Cummings, Head of Residential Agency at Savills Middle East, is quoted in the same report saying buyers are placing greater emphasis on pricing, location, quality and long-term value, while developers take a more measured approach to launches. For a buyer, fewer competing bids on a genuinely prime asset is not bad news.
The longer view points the same way. Our September 2026 market report cites Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index to June 2026, which put Dubai luxury prices up 10.9% year on year. The same Savills report lists the quarter’s standout deals: a villa on Palm Jumeirah at AED 260 million, a villa in Dubai Hills Estate at AED 252 million, and an apartment at Aman Residences at AED 166 million.
One caution: these are segment figures, not a valuation of a specific unit, and prime per-square-foot averages are dominated by whichever trophy assets happened to trade that quarter. Use them for direction, and a property valuation for price.
The Golden Visa Threshold Sits Far Below Prime
Buyers often assume the residency route requires a luxury purchase. It does not. The UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism, on a page last updated 17 October 2026, states the conditions for a real estate investor Golden Visa as one or more properties with a total value of not less than AED 2,000,000, wholly owned by the investor, plus comprehensive health insurance for the investor and family members for the duration of the stay. A separate route covers buying one or more units on the map totalling at least AED 2,000,000 from approved local companies.
In other words, every apartment in every price band in this guide clears the threshold several times over. If residency is the objective and budget is the constraint, the visa is not the reason to buy prime; the asset should be. Our Golden Visa guide covers the process, and this page is general information rather than immigration advice — confirm current requirements with the issuing authority before you rely on them.
What Prime Ownership Costs After Completion
Dubai levies no annual property tax, so the recurring cost that shapes a prime net return is the service charge. Branded and amenity-heavy buildings sit at the top of the range, because concierge, valet, pools, spas and managed landscaping are funded from it. Ask for the current approved budget per square foot and the previous three years, not just this year’s. Our guide to service charges in Dubai explains what can legally be billed and how budgets are approved through Mollak.
The second number is the one you keep. A prime apartment usually yields less than a mainstream one in percentage terms, because price moves faster than achievable rent; the case for prime rests on capital value and liquidity rather than income. Our guide to rental yield and ROI sets out the arithmetic. We have not quoted a prime-segment yield range, because we could not source one to a named research house for Q3 2026.
Transaction costs are identical in percentage terms at AED 50 million and at AED 1 million — the Dubai Land Department’s 4% transfer registration fee applies to the sale value, so at the trophy end it is a very large absolute sum. Those costs are itemised in our guide to DLD fees in Dubai, and overseas buyers should start with buying property in Dubai as a foreigner.
Who prime suits
Prime suits buyers who want a scarce asset in a liquid location and can hold through a soft quarter — which, on the Q3 2026 data, is what the broader market has just had. It suits less well a buyer whose return depends on rental income, or who needs to exit in a short, fixed window: 669 transactions above AED 10 million in a quarter is a thin market by definition. If your interest is opportunistic rather than lifestyle-led, our guide to distress sale property in Dubai explains where genuine motivated sales come from.
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