Dubai new-build flats: are financing costs really behind 108-day listings?

A

AdaHope

Homeowner
Established
I’m sense-checking a Dubai sample of mostly new-build flats priced from AED 1,512,000 to AED 2,268,000. The typical listing has been visible for 108 days, yet some apparently comparable units move much faster.

My working theory is that buyer financing separates the quick sales from the stale stock. Before I rely on price per square metre, what am I missing—recent completed sales, price-cut timing, withdrawn listings, condition, seller motivation or neighbourhood boundaries?
 
Financing may matter, but 108 days on a portal does not necessarily equal 108 days with one serious seller. Listings can be refreshed, duplicated, withdrawn or left visible after circumstances change. I’d first separate completed, ready and under-construction units, then compare only the same building or genuinely similar nearby buildings.
 
How are you calculating the square-metre figure: internal area only, or whatever area each listing displays? Also, are balconies, parking, floor height, view and furnishing treated consistently? In a broad AED 1,512,000–2,268,000 bracket, those differences could make two flats look comparable on price per square metre when buyers would not see them that way.
 
I’m not convinced financing is the main explanation. Seller motivation can produce a quick deal even when borrowing is expensive, while an optimistic asking price can sit regardless of the buyer’s funding. Completed sale evidence would be more useful than listing age alone, particularly if new-listing volume is high and withdrawn stock disappears from the sample.
 
One practical approach: divide the sample by neighbourhood, building, completion status and condition. Record the first observed price, each reduction, withdrawal date and any later relisting. Then compare the survivors with recent completed sales where available. That should show whether cuts happen early enough to attract buyers or only after a listing has already gone stale.
 
Agreed on narrowing the geography, but I’d go further and avoid combining neighbouring buildings merely because a portal places them under one area name. Boundaries can hide very different stock. I’d also ask agents the same factual questions for each unit: is it still available, has the price changed, is the seller flexible, and is buyer financing acceptable? The pattern in those answers may test Omar’s theory better than the headline listing count.
 
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