Arada vs DAMAC

Arada is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,319 against AED 1,580 for DAMAC, so DAMAC is 20% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 3.12M for a median 2,080 sqft home from Arada, 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.

Arada sells mostly 2 BR units, 320 priced records at a median AED 1,321 per sqft and AED 1.89M 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 299K from Arada and AED 536K from DAMAC.

Across 77 published plans from Arada, the median asks 40% before handover, with 0% 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. 5% of Arada plans want 60% or more before keys, against 89% of DAMAC plans. At the light end, 94% of Arada plans and 11% of DAMAC plans ask 50% or less.

Arada builds in Sharjah, Dubai, Ajman, across 17 communities, most of it in Aljada, Tilal City, Al Rowdat Suburb. DAMAC builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 23 communities, concentrated in DAMAC Lagoons, Dubai Investments Park, DAMAC Hills.

Arada peaks in 2027, when 19 of its 47 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.

44% of the Arada 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.