This could be the easiest question to answer. Dubai is not even in the top 30 most expensive cities in the world in terms of the price per meter to buy a property, with the top 10 being Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Vancouver, Shenzhen, L.A, New York, London,
Beijing, and Paris.
But interestingly for an investor, Dubai is fourth in the ‘highest monthly rental of cities around the world’ list – and 42nd in the ‘expensive cities to live’ list. To give you an idea of rental returns, you are buying into arguably one of the best cities in the world with 5-7% net return a very realistic average. In comparison: Paris 2.8%, London 2.7% New York 2.9%, Hong Kong 2.3%, and Singapore 3.3%.

Add to that, you don’t pay any taxes on your rental income and when it comes to selling you don’t pay any capital gains tax – both of which can seriously affect your returns. Dubai will continue to be attractive to tenants because of the packages companies can offer them here, the lifestyle they can enjoy, the weather, its safety record, and its convenient location. We’ve seen how Dubai has grown in the last twenty years; it will be exciting to see what happens over the next twenty. As a property investor, such speed and scale of development should entice you to add a slice of this pie to your portfolio.