Alef vs DAMAC

Alef is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,269 against AED 1,580 for DAMAC, so DAMAC is 25% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 1.49M for a median 1,169 sqft home from Alef, against AED 2.67M for a median 1,423 sqft home from DAMAC. Part of that gap is product, not premium: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.

Alef sells mostly 1 BR units, 149 priced records at a median AED 1,368 per sqft and AED 729K a unit. DAMAC leans to 1 BR units, 584 records at AED 1,671 per sqft and AED 1.56M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 515K from Alef and AED 536K from DAMAC.

Across 43 published plans from Alef, the median asks 40% before handover, with 44% carrying instalments that run past the keys. DAMAC publishes 204 plans, a median of 75% before handover and 3% with a post-handover tail.

The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 30% of Alef plans want 60% or more before keys, against 89% of DAMAC plans. At the light end, 70% of Alef plans and 11% of DAMAC plans ask 50% or less.

Alef builds in Sharjah, across 4 communities, most of it in Muwaileh, Hayyan, Al Mamzar - Sharjah. DAMAC builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 23 communities, concentrated in DAMAC Lagoons, Dubai Investments Park, DAMAC Hills.

Alef peaks in 2029, when 13 of its 40 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. DAMAC peaks in 2027 with 52 of 174. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than a delivered date.

0% of the Alef projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 35% for DAMAC. That is the share of each book no longer taking new bookings at listed prices, which reads as demand on the way in and as scarcity on the way out.