Why Are Indians Buying Properties in Dubai?
Dubai's growth is expected to drive Indian investment in luxury real estate, with prime locations and flexible payment plans attracting many Indian buyers in 2025.
Considering the record of past 5 years from 2020 to 205, the Indian investors in Dubai have been aggressively increasing where 20-40% Indian buyers have continued to dominate the market, and coming on the data, here is a sharp rise that you can see below in the 5 years of gap: -
- 2020- AED 7.8 billion
- 2021- AED 9.2 billion
- 2022- AED 15.9 billion
- 2023- AED 35 billion
- 2024- AED 36 billion
- 2025- AED 38 billion
The Indian buyers in Dubai have been increasing rapidly in the last 5 years of time as Dubai property market has been transparent, investor friendly and affordable that opens investment opportunity for all times budgets that brings high quality living around waterfront theme or greenery in branded homes, so these have turned out as a prime consideration for Indians to migrate or at least have a second home in such progressive city.
Further let us check what type of property is highly picked by the Indians that suits their budget and need both: -
INDIAN INVESTMENT BASED ON PROPERTY TYPE
| TYPE | % |
| Apartment | 60% |
| Villas & Townhouses | 30% |
| Penthouses | 5% |
| Commercial | 5% |
Verdict: The above table shows that apartments are the top choice for Indians after villas and this is mainly because of they seek for passive income where with little to no ongoing effort they can streamline the income, and other than this, in Indian branded properties are expensive so they find an alternative option and in this case, Dubai fits well with less than AED 1M one can get a new branded property in Dubai.
Along with this, apartments are high in demand, and this leads to great appreciation and rental yields, so Indians feel it is safe to buy an apartment in Dubai, where a fixed rental can at least justify the investment.
In fact, more than 12,000 apartments have been purchased by Indians because they want a secure investment and with minimum, if they can get more, then nothing could be better than this.
TOP 10 REAL ESTATE HOTSPOTS IN DUBAI FAVORED BY INDIAN INVESTORS
Even the top 10 areas where Indians have been investing in Dubai are named as Business Bay, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, MBR City, Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Arjan & Dubailand, Tilal Al Ghaf, Emaar South and Expo City are some of the highly preferred communities in Dubai as it matches up with every budget.
So, it has been gaining popularity because of the following facts or reasons: -
- One can get branded housing experience
- Rental yields for fixed income
- Affordable investment opportunity
- Capstone asset in Dubai for UHNWIs
- Budget friendly investment property
- Short/long term investment
- Beachfront or greenery living
- Holiday home Airbnb opportunity
These are some of the well refined reasons behind the Indian minds that have been pushing them to buy property in Dubai as a second home.
And going further into this, the top professionals who are buying property in Dubai are business owners and entrepreneurs with 30% followed by NRIs that are 25%, tech professionals 20%, first time buyers are 15% from Surat, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Indore and more buying affordable properties less than AED 1M, and then 10% are legal professionals or doctors, so almost all types of Indian buyers are the common property purchaser from India which are seeking for AED 600K to AED 150M budget range, and they could find all types of properties within this range.
BUYERS FROM:
Ultra-rich buyers: Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai
First time buyer: Surat, Indore, Jaipur
Holiday home buyers: Pune, Goa, Kochi
Indian NRIs: Singapore, US, Canada
Also, from all the region of India buyers are showing their keen interest in Dubai property, and if you want to get into the actual factors that have compelled them to purchase Dubai property, then here is the table showing more than 15 comparisons of Indian and Dubai’s real estate, so dig into it: -
RAPID COMPARISON EVERY INDIAN INVESTOR MUST SEE: INDIA VS DUBAI
| FACTORS | INDIA | DUBAI |
| APPRECIATION | 6% | 12% |
| RENTAL YIELD | 5% | Can be 12% |
| RESIDENCY VALIDITY | AED 2M without an employer | AED 2M with 10 year golden visa |
| BUYING PROCESS | 100% online | Digitally transparent |
| DURATION | Can take 6 months | Can be done in 3 weeks |
| OWNERSHIP | Applies offshore mode to wealth protection | Full ownership to the buyers |
| RESALE SCOPE | Can be slower | It is faster with digital access |
| PAYMENT PLAN | For ready to move there are no plans | Started 1% monthly option and post handover plan in Dubai for ready to move properties |
| BUILDER’S IMAGE | Depending on which builder the buyer picks local or branded | All the builders are RERA approved and branded |
| STAMP DUTY | 5-7% | 4% DLD |
| INCOME TAX | 10-30% | No income tax is imposed |
| PROPERTY TAX | Annual tax | No tax |
| PRICING | Delhi (AED 1-3M) | Dubai JVC (AED 750K- 1.2M) |
| BRANDED PROPERTY OPTIONS | Increasing but still limited | Unlimited branded residences available |
| CLEANLINES | Depending on the area | It maintains global standards |
| LIESTYLE | You will get mixed experience | Mixed but in a well planned manner |
| SAFETY | Depends on the timing at night it can be moderate | The top 5 safest cities in the world |
The above comparison between Indian and Dubai real estate market takes us to the conclusion that the purpose of buying is not just another property for income, but to have financial security, upgraded lifestyle for the new generation, having a property with full ownership in an international city because many Indians are still thinking to buy a property in India but its shooting price force them to drop an idea.
So to secure the future, the number of Indian investors are adding more at a great speed to make Dubai as their living space where job opportunities, quality of ancillaries, Dubai 2040 urban place to enhance the lifestyle, and chance in life are some of the vital aspects which has also made Dubai as India’s most preferred offshore real estate destination to have 100% secured property.
In case you are seeking for property in Dubai, then Dubai Housing provide strong legal advice with an availability of right property choice that fits in every concern- budget, appreciation, need, choice and purchase of investment, and even the real time market guide would help you to decide when the right time is to buy property in Dubai.
Look at another segment to get an idea on what Indian ex-pats are doing in Dubai, and this adds authenticity to the data why are Indians buying properties in Dubai?
QUICK FAQs ON INDIAN EXPATS IN DUBAI
Q- Where do Indians live in Dubai?
They are well scattered in Dubai so some of them are in the central locations such as Business Bay, Dubai Hills Estate, Dubai Marina,
Downtown and some are in suburban communities named as Arjan, Nadd Al Sheba, Jumeirah Village Circle and historical community called as Little Indian, where majority of Indians are residing.
Q- How many Indians are living in Dubai?
Almost 2 million Indians are living in Dubai, which accounts out to be 38% of the population of the entire UAE population.
Q- What Indians are doing in Dubai?
According to the data, 65% of Indians are doing blue collar jobs, 20% while collar, and 15% are professionals or entrepreneurs, so they are designated to all types of jobs in Dubai depending on their qualification and needs.
Q- How many cultural hubs are in Dubai?
As majority of Indians are residing in Dubai so cultural holds a vital importance so for this, gurdwaras and Indians temples are available in the dedicated areas to let the Indian community celebrate every festival with job, and cultural diversification is on the large scale in Dubai where Punjab, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and more holds its niche.
So, Dubai respects all the cultures and let Indian have a authority to celebrate their festival without any hindrance because they have been part of Dubai from ages.
