DAMAC vs Sobha Realty

DAMAC is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,580 against AED 2,775 for Sobha Realty, so Sobha Realty is 76% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 2.67M for a median 1,423 sqft home from DAMAC, against AED 2.19M for a median 802 sqft home from Sobha Realty. 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. Sobha Realty leans to 1 BR units, 2,732 records at AED 2,895 per sqft and AED 2.05M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 536K from DAMAC and AED 800K from Sobha Realty.

Across 204 published plans from DAMAC, the median asks 75% before handover, with 3% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Sobha Realty publishes 99 plans, a median of 60% before handover and 2% 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 87% of Sobha Realty plans. At the light end, 11% of DAMAC plans and 13% of Sobha Realty 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. Sobha Realty builds in Dubai, Umm Al Quwain, Abu Dhabi, across 25 communities, concentrated in Umm Al Quwain Marina, Bukadra, Mohammed Bin Rashid City.

DAMAC peaks in 2027, when 52 of its 174 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Sobha Realty peaks in 2029 with 32 of 97. 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 25% for Sobha Realty. 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.