International City Phase 1
apartment community
Dubai's most affordable residential area with country-themed architecture. Home to Dragon Mart, one of the largest Chinese trading hubs outside China.
DUBUY VERDICT
Capital growth, not cashflow for the appreciation thesis
International City Phase 1 has compounded 42% over 3 years. Yields are below median — buy for resale, not rental income.
YoY change
+19.2%
3-yr growth
+42%
Gross yield
—
5yr volume
11,151
Median PSF
AED 619
Apartments
YoY change
+19.2%
3-yr growth
+42%
PSF growth to 2026
Gross yield
—
International City Phase 1 is a primarily apartment-based community in Dubai with 11,151 transactions on record over the last five years. Median price per square foot sits at AED 619, up 19.2% year-on-year, outperforming the city-wide 13.3% benchmark. Use the tabs above to drill into the market detail, rental economics, schools catchment, lifestyle amenities, off-plan pipeline or active listings.
Affordability quick-look
Pre-filled with International City Phase 1 median. Drag the sliders — DLD-typical 4.5% APR over 25 years.
Monthly payment
AED 2K
Loan AED 300K · 25 yrs @ 4.5%
Indicative only — real rates vary by bank, residency status and credit profile. UAE typically requires 20–25% down for residents, 35–50% for non-residents.
What residents say about International City Phase 1
Praised for studio properties offer affordable entry point for rental income. Criticised for lack of dedicated parking spaces is inadequate for residential community.
Resident sentiment
Bottom 30%
vs all tracked Dubai communities
“Severe parking shortage makes legal parking nearly impossible”
“Excellent authentic Chinese cuisine at very affordable prices”
Reddit r/dubai, r/UAE, r/expats · 94 on-topic mentions · updated 2026-04-24
What they talk about
- price100%
- commute72%
- parking72%
- safety59%
- community59%
- rent53%
Sentiment trend
Steady
-0.02 per year
Mostly discussed by
residents
48% of mentions
Sentiment over time
Sentiment from Q1 2024 to Q1 2026 moved from -0.27 to -0.20. Based on 82 mentions across 7 quarters.
What people praise
- +Studio properties offer affordable entry point for rental income×3
- +Competitive rental yields compared to other budget segments×2
- +Affordable apartments under 1 million AED available×2
- +Monthly private leases offer cost savings compared to hotel apartments×2
- +Excellent authentic Chinese cuisine at very affordable prices×1
What people criticise
- −Lack of dedicated parking spaces is inadequate for residential community×12
- −Parking enforcement appears predatory with excessive fines for minor violations×6
- −Real estate agencies offering monthly rentals have poor reviews×5
- −Introduction of paid parking system adds financial burden to residents×4
- −Studio apartments in this budget range are concentrated here×2
What people talk about
Horizontal bars showing how often each aspect is discussed and how positively or negatively. Longest bars are most-discussed aspects.
Paraphrased by AI from the original Reddit content — never verbatim. Click any card to read the source thread.
“Excellent authentic Chinese cuisine at very affordable prices”
“Upcoming Blue Line Metro station proximity expected to improve connectivity”
“Found quality clothing at reasonable prices compared to alternatives”
“Severe parking shortage makes legal parking nearly impossible”
“Severe parking shortage at night despite paid subscriptions”
“Parking zones poorly managed, causing spillover into residential areas”
Who's talking
Communities with similar vibes
Based on cosine similarity of what people praise and criticise about each area.
Based on 94 Reddit posts and comments (2021–2026) from r/dubai, r/UAE, r/expats and r/digitalnomad, scored by Claude Haiku. Last updated 2026-04-24. Read the full methodology.
Market Context
Dubai's property market has grown 60% since the 2020 pandemic low. International City Phase 1 is growing faster than the citywide average, indicating strong local demand.
Nearby schools17 schools
View on DubaiSchools.ai2
2
3
100/100
GEMS Modern Academy
Repton School
GEMS Our Own English High School
Kings School Nad Al Sheba L.L.C
Newlands School
Sharjah American International Private school
Available Curriculums
School data from DubaiSchools.ai • KHDA ratings • Updated May 2026
Local amenitiesWalker's Paradise
Amenities within 2.5km walking distance • 66 total outlets near International City Phase 1• Click a category to explore
Walker's Paradise
Lifestyle Scores
Data source: OpenStreetMap via Overpass API • 2.5km radius • Last updated: June 2026
Transport & Lifestyle
Based on metro, tram, bus & marine access
Based on parks, cycling tracks & local amenities
Bus Routes
Nearby Landmarks & Transport
Based on DLD transaction records for properties in International City Phase 1
Metro Stations
Palm Deira Metro
Nearest
Al Ras Metro
Baniyas Square Metro
Shopping Malls
Al Ghurair Centre
Nearest
BurJuman Centre
Landmarks
Gold Souk
Nearest
Travel times from International City Phase 1
Real drive times based on Dubai road network • Peak hours (8-10am, 5-8pm) shown
Active listings in International City Phase 1
Sale and rental listings pulled from PropertyFinder. Filter by purpose, bedrooms, or price — sort live.
No active listings indexed yet
PropertyFinder syncs are weekly. Try again soon, or browse PropertyFinder directly.
Investability index
5-driver composite · v1.0
Investor-leaning. Not a buy/sell signal — cross-reference drivers before deciding.
6-month forecast
From 2025Q4 · 8 quarters of data
AED 681/sqft → AED 721/sqft
Range AED 663 – 779· +1.2 pp vs Dubai forecast (+4.7%)
Drivers
Base trend
OLS slope of last 8 quarters' median psf, projected 6mo
Supply pressure
24% off-plan share — low incoming supply
OLS trend + supply pressure + sentiment momentum. Not a substitute for property-level appraisal. Methodology →
Value a unit in this community
Bedroom-specific psf, building-tier adjusted, with the actual comparables we used. Free — methodology shown.
Price Trends
Median PSF change over time
3 months
+1.6%
6 months
+6.6%
1 year
+9.7%
2 years
+26.1%
Median price per square foot (PSF), quarter-on-quarter, ending 2025Q4. From DLD transactions; monthly granularity isn't published.
| Quarter | Median/sqft | Transactions | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026Q1 | AED 722 | 100 | +6.0% |
| 2025Q4 | AED 681 | 536 | +1.6% |
| 2025Q3 | AED 670 | 550 | +4.9% |
| 2025Q2 | AED 639 | 511 | +0.8% |
| 2025Q1 | AED 634 | 622 | +2.1% |
| 2024Q4 | AED 621 | 501 | +7.4% |
| 2024Q3 | AED 578 | 496 | +1.4% |
| 2024Q2 | AED 570 | 521 | +9.8% |
| 2024Q1 | AED 519 | 648 | -3.9% |
| 2023Q4 | AED 540 | 593 | +4.7% |
| 2023Q3 | AED 516 | 611 | +4.2% |
| 2023Q2 | AED 495 | 512 | +3.3% |
| 2023Q1 | AED 479 | 557 |
Property Mix
By Type
Room Distribution
Developers3 developers
Scores are editorial — DLD delivery record + RERA filings + industry reportsNakheel
- •Iconic waterfront locations
- •Strong government backing
- •Established communities
- •Some older stock needs renovation
- •Service charges vary
Meraas
- •Exceptional design quality
- •Lifestyle-focused amenities
- •Prime locations
- •Premium pricing
- •Limited inventory
Azizi Developments
- •Competitive pricing
- •High rental yields
- •Flexible payment plans
- •Mixed reviews on finishes
- •High density projects
Area health & valuations
Healthcare, education, government housing, air quality, and official land valuations.
Real Estate Agents in Dubai
DLD-licensed agents • 39,463 registered brokers from 12,135 agencies
View All AgentsTop Agencies by Team Size
Featured Agents
All agents verified through Dubai Land Department (DLD) licensing system
Short-term rental (Airbnb) yield
Estimated from 114 active Airbnb listing-months. Medians, not guarantees — actual returns depend on hosting effort, seasonality and DTCM permit costs.
Median nightly
AED 400
Occupancy
63%
Est. annual revenue
AED 82,104
Gross STR yield
20.5%
Source: AirROI Dubai Airbnb listing-month data (Kaggle jasonairroi/airbnb-short-term-rental-data-dubai) joined to DLD median sale prices · Refreshed 2026-06-01 · methodology
Coverage note: the underlying dataset omits several areas (including Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah and JBR), so STR yields aren't available for every community — absence here means no data, not no short-term-rental market.
Service charges
RERA-registered rates for International City Phase 1
Average
AED 11/sqft
Source: RERA / DLD (2025)
Off-plan risk assessment
Five-factor risk score for buying off-plan in this community
Moderate
Overall risk score
Composite of leverage trend, transaction velocity, asking-vs-realized wedge, sentiment proxy, and off-plan share. Higher = more vulnerable to a downturn. Not a buy/sell signal — context only.
Green coverage
Moderate green coverageCounts OpenStreetMap-tagged green features (parks, gardens, woods, grass, pitches) within a 1.8km walking radius of the community centroid. Weighted score privileges named parks + established woods over generic grass strips. v2 will add ESA WorldCover 10m satellite NDVI for actual % canopy coverage — captures everything green including private gardens, road verges, and golf courses.
Flood exposure
Flooding reported (2024)April 2024: Low-lying areas flooded; standing water reported.
A conservative, news-derived read of communities reported flooded in the April 2024 event — indicative only, not an engineering, drainage or insurance assessment. Elevation is shown as context, not used to score risk (Dubai is flat; drainage drives flooding). Communities without a rating were simply not reported — that is not evidence of safety. Methodology
Time machine
historical median PSFPick a date and click "Look up" to see this community's median PSF and transaction counts on that day. Data starts from when our weekly DLD pipeline began persisting snapshots.
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Similar to International City Phase 1
Data updated June 2026 · DLD Official Records
Highlights
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All guides & rankingsFrequently asked questions about International City Phase 1
What is the average property price in International City Phase 1?
The median property price in International City Phase 1 is AED 400,000, with a median price per square foot of AED 619. Prices have changed +19.2% year-over-year as of March 2026.
What types of properties are available in International City Phase 1?
International City Phase 1 is primarily an apartment community with approximately 95% apartments and 4% villas. The most common property types include Flat (9,156), Shop (1,296), Office (154).
How is the real estate market performing in International City Phase 1?
International City Phase 1 has seen 11,151 property transactions over the past 5 years. The current year-over-year price change is +19.2%, with 4,485 transactions in the last 12 months. This data is sourced from the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
Numbers above are derived from Dubai Land Department (DLD) transaction records and Ejari rental contracts as of March 2026.How we built this.