Emaar Off-Plan Properties in Dubai
Emaar built Burj Khalifa and Downtown Dubai, and its UAE arm says it has delivered over 84,000 homes since 2002. It is listed and reports every quarter. Its weak spot: Creek Harbour's centrepiece tower, unveiled in 2016, whose tender slipped again in June 2026.
1 property
Featured Property
Oria by the Creek
1- to 3-bedroom Creek Harbour apartments, with handover due in September 2028
The short answer
Emaar Properties is a Dubai developer listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM). It was established in June 1997. It built Burj Khalifa, which opened on 4 January 2010 at 828 m, and The Dubai Mall, which opened in November 2008.
Its UAE homebuilding arm, Emaar Development, is behind Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Arabian Ranches, Dubai Hills Estate and Dubai Creek Harbour, among others.
Since May 2026, Emaar’s largest shareholder has been Dubai Holding. The Investment Corporation of Dubai moved its whole stake to a Dubai Holding company, which took the group to 29.73%. Dubai Holding also owns Nakheel and Meraas. Mohamed Alabbar founded Emaar and still speaks for it.
Track record
Emaar’s delivery figures are its own, published with its results. Emaar Development says it has handed over more than 84,000 homes in the UAE since 2002, and has over 51,000 under development. Across all its markets, Emaar Properties gives over 130,900 homes since 2002.
You can see the oldest of them for yourself. Emaar had finished more than 300 villas at The Meadows by July 2003, a year after launch. Arabian Ranches’ first residents were due to move in during 2004. Both are long finished, so the upkeep and resale prices there are a fair test of how Emaar communities age.
Some of its largest projects began as joint ventures. Dubai Hills Estate was announced in June 2013 with Meraas, set around an 18-hole golf course. Dubai Creek Harbour began in October 2013 as a joint development with Dubai Holding. Emaar bought it outright in 2022 for AED 7.5bn.
The clearest delay is in Creek Harbour. Emaar unveiled Dubai Creek Tower in April 2016 as the district’s centrepiece, meant to be taller than Burj Khalifa. Work was then suspended for a redesign. In January 2026, Alabbar said the tender would go out within three months. In June he put it back by three to four months more, citing building costs. If you buy in Creek Harbour, buy for what is built or contracted, not for the tower.
What Emaar’s homes are like
Emaar builds at volume, mostly apartments and villas inside its own master plans. Oria by the Creek is one: a Creek Harbour apartment building with 1 to 3 bedrooms and handover scheduled for September 2028. Emaar also runs malls and hotels, with 41 hotels and resorts owned or managed.
It keeps launching inside those plans. In the first half of 2026 it released 11 projects in six master plans, among them Emaar South, Dubai Hills Estate and The Oasis. It did so while taking what it called a “calibrated approach” to new launches. For you, that means a resale may compete with Emaar’s own next phase down the road.
Who Emaar suits, and who it doesn’t
Emaar suits a buyer who wants a developer whose results are public, and a master plan run by the company that built it. It suits a first overseas purchase, where a long, checkable delivery record matters more than a unique design.
It doesn’t suit a buyer who wants a one-off building or a small community: with over 51,000 homes in its pipeline, new phases keep coming. Nor does it suit someone who needs Creek Harbour finished soon. The district is still being built, and its centrepiece is unresolved.
What Diamond checks before recommending an Emaar project
- Registration and escrow. Dubai law requires a separate escrow account for each off-plan project, used only for building it (Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, Article 9). Diamond checks the project’s registration with the Dubai Land Department.
- Who the seller is. Emaar Development, Emaar Properties or a joint-venture company: the name on the sale contract is the one you would deal with if anything slips.
- Progress. The Real Estate Regulatory Agency’s (RERA) inspection figure for the building, against the completion date written into the contract.
- The payment plan in writing, with the date of every instalment, and how much falls due before handover.
- Service charges for comparable Emaar buildings in the same community.
- What Emaar is launching next door, and when it hands over.
Other Emaar projects
If the Emaar project you want isn’t listed here, Diamond can source it on request: a new phase in Dubai Hills Estate or Emaar South, or a resale home in Downtown Dubai. Message Diamond on WhatsApp with your budget, the bedrooms you need and your handover year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Its record is long and public. Emaar Development says it has handed over more than 84,000 homes in the UAE since 2002, with over 51,000 more under development. Those are Emaar's own figures. For any one project, check RERA's progress figure and the completion date in your sale contract.
Emaar Properties is listed on the Dubai Financial Market, so its shares trade publicly. Since May 2026 its largest shareholder has been Dubai Holding, with 29.73%, after the Investment Corporation of Dubai moved its 22.27% stake to a Dubai Holding company. Mohamed Alabbar is its founder.
Oria's listing gives September 2028 as the anticipated handover for its 1- to 3-bedroom apartments in Dubai Creek Harbour. Treat that as Emaar's target, not a promise. Before you reserve, ask for the completion date in the sale contract, check the project's registration with the Dubai Land Department, and follow RERA's progress figure for the building.
Not yet. Emaar unveiled it in April 2016 and later suspended work for a redesign. In January 2026, Mohamed Alabbar said the tender would go out within three months. In June he put it back three or four months more, citing building costs. Buy in Creek Harbour for what is already built.
By law, it must be. Each off-plan project needs its own escrow account, used only to build it (Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007, Article 9). Emaar's accounts show AED 43.3bn of buyers' advances held in escrow accounts at 31 March 2026. Pay only into the escrow account named in your sale contract.
Resale gets you keys now and a service charge record you can read; The Meadows has had finished villas since 2003. Off-plan, you pay in stages before handover. Emaar made 11 launches across six master plans in the first half of 2026, so check what it is building next door.
An apartment usually carries two. Its building's service charge is shared by floor area (Dubai Law No. 6 of 2019, Article 25). As master developer, Emaar can also levy usage charges for the master community's shared areas (Article 26). Neither may be collected without RERA's approval (Article 27). The DLD's Service Charge Index lists approved rates.
Yes. Diamond can source other Emaar projects on request, such as new phases in Dubai Hills Estate, Emaar South or The Oasis, where Emaar launched homes in the first half of 2026. Message her on WhatsApp with your budget, the bedrooms you need and your handover year.
Talk to Diamond
Twenty-five years in property, the last of them in Dubai. Ask about a specific building, what a mortgage would look like, or whether a price is fair.
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