⚠️ Disclaimer: This calculator provides an estimate from assumptions you enter. It is not financial, legal, tax or investment advice and cannot predict property prices, rent, interest rates or investment returns. Verify all costs and consult a qualified adviser before making a decision.
Dubai Buy vs Rent Calculator
Compare exit-adjusted net wealth with monthly cash-flow timing, separately editable acquisition and selling costs, sensitivity checks and exact-month off-plan handover.
Evaluating rental income instead? Use the independent Dubai ROI vs Rental Yield Calculator.
🏠 Buying assumptions
Editable financing assumption.
Acquisition and exit assumptions
Each value is editable. Verify the actual contract, trustee, lender and broker charges for your transaction.
Ongoing ownership costs
Applied monthly to the property's opening value.
🔑 Renting assumptions
Return assumed for capital kept invested while renting.
Comparison horizon
Assumptions & Disclaimer
- All property, rent, rate and return values are manual inputs or editable assumptions.
- The renter starts with the cash the buyer spends at acquisition. Each signed monthly housing-cost difference is deposited into or withdrawn from that portfolio at month end.
- Buyer net wealth is property value less mortgage balance and the entered selling-cost assumption. The same exit treatment drives every monthly break-even check and the final verdict.
- DLD transfer, buyer agent, other acquisition, mortgage registration, selling, maintenance and service-charge inflation assumptions are separately editable; defaults are planning inputs, not a quote.
- Off-plan installments and rent run through the exact selected handover month. Remaining down payment and mortgage registration are paid at that month end; mortgage, service and maintenance payments start the following month.
- Before off-plan handover, installments are treated as committed cash with no realizable resale value. Property appreciation starts at handover.
- Rent changes at 12-month lease anniversaries. Property appreciation, service-charge inflation and alternative return use equivalent monthly rates. Current-month cash flows occur after portfolio growth.
- If the renter portfolio falls below zero, the model treats the shortfall as funding that compounds at the entered alternative-return rate.
- Insurance, utilities, furnishing, moving, tax and other costs not listed above are excluded.
- Results are estimates, not financial or investment advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Dubai Buy vs Rent Calculator work?
It compares exit-adjusted buyer net wealth with an equal-cash-flow renter portfolio month by month. The renter starts with the cash used by the buyer at acquisition, and each signed monthly housing-cost difference is deposited or withdrawn at month end.
What buying costs are included?
DLD transfer, buyer-agent, other acquisition, mortgage-registration percentage and fixed amount, selling cost, service charges, service-charge inflation and maintenance are all separate editable assumptions. Mortgage payments and the selected down payment are also included.
How is break-even calculated?
The first break-even month is the first monthly point where buyer net wealth is at least renter net wealth. Buyer wealth deducts the entered selling cost at every month, so the crossover and final verdict use the same exit treatment.
Can I compare an off-plan purchase?
Yes. Installments and rent continue through the exact selected handover month. The remaining down payment and mortgage registration are paid at that month end, and mortgage, service and maintenance payments begin the following month.
Does the calculator look up projects or use DLD property data?
No. It has no project, building, community or area lookup and makes no property-data request. The URL contains only documented manual calculator parameters.
Can I save or share a comparison?
Yes. Copy Link shares the current manual assumptions in the URL. Save Comparison stores up to ten entries locally in your browser; it does not send them to an account or server.