Dubai Buy vs Rent Calculator (2026)

Your scenario

Property price

AED

Equivalent annual rent

AED

Years you'll stay

Mortgage

Down payment

Mortgage interest rate

% / yr

Assumptions

Annual price appreciation

% / yr

Annual rent increase

% / yr

Selling cost when you exit (0% if you sell privately — Dubai sellers aren't required to pay agent commission)

% of sale

Net outcome over 7 years

Buying

Equity returned at sale –

Housing cost (interest + fees + service) –

Net outcome –

Renting

Capital kept as cash –

Rent paid –

Net outcome –

–

Each path is broken into two pieces: what your capital does and what you spend on housing. Net outcome = the sum. A negative result doesn't mean a path "failed" — it means housing costs exceeded what your capital recovered. In flat markets all paths typically come out negative; the best path is the one that loses least.

Based on standard 2026 Dubai ready-resale fees and a 25-year mortgage term. Service charges estimated at 1% of property value per year. Estimates only — verify rates and fees before deciding.

Separate scenario

What if you rented and invested instead?

Renting frees up the cash you'd have sunk into a down payment and fees. If you invest that — plus the monthly difference whenever rent is cheaper than a mortgage — here's where you'd land, using the same numbers above.

S&P 500 return (historical avg, not guaranteed)

% / yr

Portfolio value at end

–

Capital gain from investing –

Rent paid –

Net outcome on housing –

This model assumes you actually invest the monthly savings and starting capital — not just hold cash. Historical S&P 500 returns are not guaranteed, and property appreciation is equally an assumption. Use conservative estimates for both.

How the net outcome is calculated

Three lines, not one mystery number

Each path is broken into two pieces: what your capital does and what you spend on housing. Net outcome = the sum. A negative net outcome doesn't mean a path "failed" — it means housing costs exceeded what your capital recovered. In flat markets all paths typically come out negative; the best path is the one that loses least.

Buying

Your starting capital (down payment + purchase fees: DLD 4%, agency 2% + VAT, trustee AED 4,200, title deed AED 580) goes into a property. Over your stay you pay mortgage instalments on a 25-year term, amortised month by month, plus service charges estimated at 1% of property value per year. When you sell, you recover the appreciated value minus the outstanding loan balance and any selling cost you set (Dubai sellers aren't required to pay commission — the default is 0%). That's equity returned at sale. Housing cost = interest paid (total mortgage payments minus principal you built up) + purchase fees + service charges. Net outcome = equity returned − housing cost.

Renting

Your starting capital stays as cash — the down payment and purchase fees you never spent. You pay rent each year, compounded by the annual rent increase you set (negative values model falling rents). Net outcome = capital kept − total rent paid.

Renting + investing (separate scenario)

Starting capital goes into the S&P 500, compounded monthly. Each month, if the mortgage payment would have exceeded rent, that monthly saving is also invested. Portfolio value at end is the headline number — the count-up animation shows where the investment lands. Net outcome = portfolio value − total rent paid. This is shown separately because it adds a further assumption: that you consistently invest the difference, and that historical market returns continue.