Buy vs rent — how many years until ownership wins?
For every community with sufficient rent + price data, we model 30 years of buyer cash-flow against renter cash-flow with steady-state assumptions. Property Finder's calculator does this one community at a time. We pre-compute it for all of them and rank.
Communities modeled
19
Median inflection
1.4y
Strong-buy tier
18
of 19
| Community | Years to break even | Tier | Yield | Median price | Net @ 5y | Net @ 10y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 1.0y | Strong buy | 12.0% | AED 955K | +AED 537K | +AED 1.32M | |
| Arjan | 1.0y | Strong buy | 7.7% | AED 913K | +AED 301K | +AED 801K | |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | 1.0y | Strong buy | 11.3% | AED 1.60M | +AED 832K | +AED 2.06M | |
| International City Phase 1 | 1.0y | Strong buy | 11.0% | AED 400K | +AED 203K | +AED 504K | |
| DAMAC HILLS | 1.0y | Strong buy | 7.7% | AED 1.31M | +AED 433K | +AED 1.15M | |
| Dubai Sports City | 1.1y | Strong buy | 7.2% | AED 850K | +AED 258K | +AED 698K | |
| Dubai Marina | 1.2y | Strong buy | 6.6% | AED 2.02M | +AED 550K | +AED 1.52M | |
| DownTown Dubai | 1.2y | Strong buy | 6.4% | AED 2.95M | +AED 782K | +AED 2.17M | |
| Palm Jumeirah | 1.3y | Strong buy | 6.2% | AED 4.53M | +AED 1.14M | +AED 3.20M | |
| Silicon Oasis | 1.4y | Strong buy | 5.7% | AED 838K | +AED 190K | +AED 549K | |
| Jaddaf Waterfront | 1.4y | Strong buy | 5.7% | AED 1.39M | +AED 318K | +AED 915K | |
| Business Bay | 1.5y | Strong buy | 5.3% | AED 1.51M | +AED 308K | +AED 915K | |
| Barsha Heights | 1.6y | Strong buy | 5.0% | AED 1.59M | +AED 303K | +AED 915K | |
| Motor City | 1.8y | Strong buy | 4.5% | AED 1.18M | +AED 191K | +AED 606K | |
| HADAEQ SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID - DISRICT 7 | 1.8y | Strong buy | 4.5% | AED 3.09M | +AED 505K | +AED 1.60M | |
| Dubai World Central | 2.3y | Strong buy | 3.6% | AED 1.88M | +AED 216K | +AED 777K | |
| DAMAC HILLS 2 | 2.4y | Strong buy | 3.4% | AED 1.77M | +AED 182K | +AED 686K | |
| Dubai Water Canal | 2.9y | Strong buy | 2.8% | AED 3.89M | +AED 286K | +AED 1.26M | |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 3.6y | Reasonable | 2.2% | AED 2.50M | +AED 99K | +AED 627K |
Methodology & assumptions
For each community, simulates 30 years of buyer cash-flow vs renter cash-flow using the community's actual median price, median annual rent, and 6-month price forecast (annualised). Buyer outflow = down payment + closing costs + mortgage interest + service charges. Renter outflow = annual rent compounded at 3%/yr RERA-typical. Equity grows from price appreciation + mortgage principal paid. Renter's opportunity cost on their down payment + closing costs is included at 4%/yr. The "inflection year" is where the buyer's net worth (equity - cash out) overtakes the renter's net worth (opportunity cost - rent paid).
Down payment
25%
Mortgage term
25y
Mortgage rate
4.99%
Price growth
4%/yr
Rent growth
3%/yr
Service charge
1.2% px/yr
Upfront cost
7.25%
Renter opp cost
4%/yr
A model. Real-world outcomes vary with: actual mortgage rate negotiated, transaction fees, vacant periods, mid-term price corrections, refinancing, etc. Useful for ranking communities relative to each other, NOT for deciding to buy a specific unit. Last refresh: 5/8/2026.