Methodology & Data Source

How we collect, verify and publish Dubai real estate transaction data

1. Data Sources

All transaction data is sourced from official, publicly available records:

Dubai Land Department (DLD): Primary source via the official DubaiLand Open Data portal (dubailand.gov.ae). Every property transaction registered with DLD is publicly listed, including buyer/seller details (where disclosed), property address, area and consideration price.
RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority): Cross-referenced for accuracy and dispute resolution. RERA maintains the official register of all transactions for developer accountability.
Zillow/Property portals: Used for secondary verification of price ranges and market trends only.

2. Data Collection & Refresh Cadence

Weekly snapshots: We pull fresh DLD transaction feeds every Tuesday at 09:00 GST. The dataset is a "point-in-time" snapshot of all transactions recorded with DLD as of that date.

Data lag: DLD typically publishes transactions 1–3 business days after registration, meaning our Tuesday snapshot contains transactions from the prior week.

Historical data: Our archive spans January 2025 to present. Historical data prior to Jan 2025 is available on request.

Corrections: If a transaction is amended or cancelled post-registration, DLD issues an update. We flag such corrections in our dataset.

3. Calculation Methods

Price Per Sqft (AED/sqft)

Calculated as: Transaction Price (AED) / Registered Area (sqft)

The registered area is sourced from the DLD official property card and includes useable floor area. For apartments, this excludes the shared common areas (stairwells, lobbies). For villas, this is the built-up area within the plot boundaries.

Median Price (per community)

Calculated as the 50th percentile of all transaction prices in a given community over the selected time period.

Median is preferred over mean for market reporting because it is resistant to outliers (ultra-luxury sales skewing averages).

Price Trend (YoY %)

Calculated as: ((Recent 6m Avg - Prior 6m Avg) / Prior 6m Avg) × 100

This measures the year-over-year change in average transaction price. A negative % indicates price softening; positive indicates appreciation.

4. Data Quality & Known Limitations

Buyer Nationality

Not disclosed by DLD for corporate entities, offshore entities, or transactions where the buyer is a UAE national company. We mark these as "Undisclosed". Approximately 15–20% of transactions lack nationality data.

Off-Plan vs. Ready Properties

DLD records all transactions including off-plan assignments and resales of off-plan units. We categorize transactions as PRIMARY (from developer), RESALE (secondary market), or OFFPLAN_ASSIGNMENT (transfer of purchase rights) based on transaction type codes in the DLD feed.

Mortgage vs. Cash

DLD does not explicitly disclose the payment method. We infer mortgage likely if the transaction involves a bank/REIT or includes mortgage-related annotations. Cash is inferred otherwise. This is approximate.

Area Measurement Variations

Property areas may vary between DLD records, RERA records and developer brochures due to differences in measurement methodology (net vs. gross). We use the DLD official property card area, which is the legal basis for all transactions.

Distressed Sales

We do not filter for distressed sales (foreclosures, quick sales). All transactions at market price are included. You should validate outliers independently.

5. Legal Disclaimers

No financial advice: MRK provides factual, historical transaction data only. This is not financial, legal, or investment advice. Consult a licensed financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Data accuracy: While we verify data against DLD and RERA records, we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. Data is provided "as is" without warranty. Users assume all risk of reliance.

Third-party use: You are welcome to cite MRK's transaction database in reports, articles and analyses. Please attribute to "MRK Real Estate Transaction Database" or similar.

No real-time data: Our data is a weekly snapshot, not real-time. For live DLD updates, visit dubailand.gov.ae directly.

Privacy: All data is sourced from public DLD records and does not constitute private data. However, we respect privacy and encourage responsible use.

6. API Access & Custom Reports

Need real-time transaction feeds, custom filters, or bulk data exports? MRK offers:

API access to transaction feeds with custom webhooks
Real-time alerts for specific communities, price ranges, or buyer nationalities
Custom dashboards for portfolio managers and developers
Bulk historical exports (CSV, JSON, or database access)

Have Questions?

If you have questions about our methodology, data sources, or need clarification on any metric, please reach out.

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