DAMAC vs Nakheel

DAMAC is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,580 against AED 2,138 for Nakheel, so Nakheel is 35% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 2.67M for a median 1,423 sqft home from DAMAC, against AED 5.60M for a median 2,921 sqft home from Nakheel. 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. Nakheel leans to 2 BR units, 109 records at AED 2,020 per sqft and AED 2.80M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 536K from DAMAC and AED 600K from Nakheel.

Across 204 published plans from DAMAC, the median asks 75% before handover, with 3% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Nakheel publishes 81 plans, a median of 80% before handover and 0% 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 91% of Nakheel plans. At the light end, 11% of DAMAC plans and 9% of Nakheel 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. Nakheel builds in Dubai, across 13 communities, concentrated in Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Islands, Al Furjan.

DAMAC peaks in 2027, when 52 of its 174 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Nakheel peaks in 2028 with 30 of 82. 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 46% for Nakheel. 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.