Dubai’s headline property numbers are set by the waterfront. The districts that actually absorb most buyers sit inland, and the cheapest of them is Dubai South — the airport city on the emirate’s south-western edge, where 36 of the 42 current off-plan launches start below half a million dollars.
The area is not a conventional neighbourhood and does not pretend to be. It grew up next to Al Maktoum International Airport as a place of work first, with logistics parks, aviation and business zones, the Expo City site, and residential quarters placed between them. What it offers a buyer is floor area and a short commute to those employers. What it does not yet offer, in every quarter, is the incidental city life that only arrives with time.
The entry level
The floor of the market sits close to $135,000, where Aristo by Oksa Developers is listed from AED 498,000, completing in the fourth quarter of 2028 with 5% due at booking. Divine Elements follows at about $180,000 for a Q4 2027 handover, and Vivida Residences at roughly $190,000 for Q1 2028, also on a 5% booking deposit.
Azizi Developments, which accounts for eleven of the district’s 42 launches, occupies much of the band immediately above: Azizi Venice 13 from about $193,000 with delivery in Q3 2027, and Azizi Venice 15 from roughly $245,000 for Q2 2027.
These are the prices that make Dubai South unusual. Nowhere else in the emirate does new-build stock start this low, and the payment structures reinforce it — booking deposits across the district generally run between 5% and 20%, with staged payments through the build and the remainder due on completion.
The middle of the range
Between $250,000 and $350,000 the choice widens. One By Preston is listed from about $253,000, completing in Q4 2027 on a 20% booking deposit. Garnet by Siroya starts near $269,000 for Q3 2027 with 10% at booking. Courtyard One, from roughly $296,000, hands over in Q3 2027. Marquis Horizon is listed from about $344,000 for Q4 2028.
Above that, the district thins out quickly. Cresswell Plaza by Arady Properties is listed from about $457,000 with a Q4 2026 completion — one of the earlier handovers available. Enre Residence by Imtiaz starts near $462,000 for Q1 2028. South Square Tower S1, from Dubai South Properties, is the outlier at roughly $578,000 for Q4 2028.
Only two projects in the entire district begin above $1 million, and both are villa releases rather than apartments.
What to weigh before the price
Three things matter more here than the difference of twenty or thirty thousand dollars between comparable units.
The quarter, not the district. Dubai South is large and unevenly developed. Some pockets already have retail, schools and clinics trading; others are years away. Two buildings at the same price can face very different realities on the day the keys arrive.
The handover year. Twenty of the 42 projects complete in 2027 alone. A building finishing ahead of that wave meets a thinner field of competing rentals than one arriving in the middle of it.
The developer. Twenty-three companies are building here, from Emaar down to firms with a single project to their name. Delivery records vary far more across that range than construction quality does.
For someone whose job is at Al Maktoum, in the surrounding free zones or at Expo City, the case is straightforward: this is where the same budget buys noticeably more space than the established districts, and the drive to work is short. For an investor the argument is longer-dated, resting on employers arriving in step with the buildings. Both readings depend on the same detail — which part of Dubai South a project actually sits in.
The full list of current off-plan projects in Dubai South, with prices, payment plans and handover dates, is maintained by Gorilla Real Estate. Figures cited here reflect listings at the time of publication and are subject to change by the developer.
About Gorilla Real Estate
Gorilla Real Estate is a Dubai-based agency founded in 2014, working exclusively on primary and off-plan property across the UAE. The company maintains a catalogue covering 331 developers and more than 1,000 live off-plan projects, structured by developer, community and handover year rather than by individual listing, so that a buyer can compare launches on the terms that actually differ between them: entry price, payment schedule, completion date and the delivery record of the company building.
The agency is led by founder and chief executive Muhammad Shawk, who has spent more than a decade in the Dubai market. He also presents the company's YouTube channel, which publishes project tours, market analysis and on-site observations from launches across the emirate, including several of the developments covered above. The channel exists to document what buildings and districts look like on the ground rather than in a rendering.
Alongside the project catalogue, the agency publishes a developer database with entry prices and payment terms, an area directory organised by community, and free comparative reviews that set current launches side by side on pricing and payment timelines.
Dubai South at a glance
Dubai South covers roughly 145 square kilometres on the emirate's south-western edge and is organised into functional districts rather than as a single neighbourhood: a Residential District, a Business Park, Aviation and Logistics districts, a Golf District and the Expo City site. Housing is concentrated in the residential quarters, while the remainder is given over to employment. Al Maktoum International Airport sits at the centre of the plan.
Current off-plan supply in the district:
- Projects: 43 live off-plan launches
- Entry price: from AED 498,000
- Handover: 2025 to 2029, with 2027 the heaviest year
- Developers: more than 20 companies building, led by Azizi Developments with 11 projects, alongside Dubai South Properties, Emaar, Arady Properties, Oksa Developers, Dugasta, Imtiaz, Avenew Development and others
- Payment plans: booking deposits generally 5% to 20%, with staged instalments through construction and the balance at completion
Neighbouring communities include Emaar South, Expo City Dubai, Dubai Investment Park and Madinat Al Mataar, which draw on the same employment base and compete for the same tenants.
Data Source: Gorilla Real Estate official website