DAMAC vs Ellington

DAMAC is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,580 against AED 2,427 for Ellington, so Ellington is 54% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 2.67M for a median 1,423 sqft home from DAMAC, against AED 2.98M for a median 1,254 sqft home from Ellington. Part of that gap is product, not premium: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.

DAMAC sells mostly 1 BR units, 584 priced records at a median AED 1,671 per sqft and AED 1.56M a unit. Ellington leans to 2 BR units, 146 records at AED 2,439 per sqft and AED 3.03M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 536K from DAMAC and AED 429K from Ellington.

Across 204 published plans from DAMAC, the median asks 75% before handover, with 3% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Ellington publishes 74 plans, a median of 70% before handover and 1% with a post-handover tail.

The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 89% of DAMAC plans want 60% or more before keys, against 80% of Ellington plans. At the light end, 11% of DAMAC plans and 20% of Ellington plans ask 50% or less.

DAMAC builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 23 communities, most of it in DAMAC Lagoons, Dubai Investments Park, DAMAC Hills. Ellington builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 26 communities, concentrated in Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Dubai Islands, Jumeirah Lake Towers.

DAMAC peaks in 2027, when 52 of its 174 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Ellington peaks in 2026 with 22 of 67. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than a delivered date.

35% of the DAMAC projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 59% for Ellington. 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.