Dubai vs Ras Al Khaimah

Dubai is the cheaper square foot, AED 2,021 against AED 2,721 in Ras Al Khaimah, so Ras Al Khaimah is 35% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 1.91M for a median 916 sqft home in Dubai, against AED 2.73M for a median 1,016 sqft home in Ras Al Khaimah. Part of that gap is product rather than location: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.

Dubai publishes mostly 1 BR units, 15,866 priced records at a median AED 1,916 per sqft and AED 1.50M a unit. Ras Al Khaimah leans to 1 BR units, 1,019 records at AED 2,677 per sqft and AED 2.33M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price anywhere in Dubai is AED 310K, against AED 556K in Ras Al Khaimah. That is a single listing on each side, so read it as what exists rather than as a level.

Across 3,315 published plans in Dubai, the median asks 20% on booking and 60% before handover, with 17% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Ras Al Khaimah publishes 158 plans: 10% on booking, 50% before handover and 18% with a post-handover tail.

The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 57% of Dubai plans want 60% or more before keys, against 43% in Ras Al Khaimah. At the light end, 41% of Dubai plans and 56% of Ras Al Khaimah plans ask 50% or less.

Jumeirah Village Circle carries 295 of Dubai's 2,337 tracked projects, 13% of the emirate, across 135 tracked communities. Al Marjan Island carries 95 of Ras Al Khaimah's 131, 73%, across 12 communities. A concentrated emirate median is a project decision rather than a market signal: if the anchor scheme reprices, the emirate reprices with it.

On the supply side, Emaar is the largest builder in Dubai with 331 projects of 582 developers active, and RAK leads Ras Al Khaimah with 37 of 48.

Largest in Dubai: Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Islands, Dubai South, Business Bay, Dubailand. Largest in Ras Al Khaimah: Al Marjan Island, Mina Al Arab, Al Hamra Village, RAK Central, Al Jazeera Al Hamra.

Dubai peaks in 2027, when 750 of its 2,337 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Ras Al Khaimah peaks in 2028 with 64 of 131. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than as a delivered date.

42% of the Dubai projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 23% in Ras Al Khaimah. A young book looks available because it launched recently, and an old one looks scarce because what did not sell has quietly stopped being listed, so this is a supply reading rather than a demand one.