How we handle data.
Every number on DPL comes from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) transaction record, accessed via ReidIN. This page explains how we process raw transaction data into the metrics you see — and where the data has limits.
Data source
All transaction data comes from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) — the official government body that registers every real estate transaction in Dubai. DPL accesses this data through ReidIN, a licensed DLD data provider. We do not generate estimates, scrape listings, or use secondary sources. Every transaction on DPL is a registered DLD record.
Transaction classification
Every transaction on DPL is classified along two axes:
| Axis | Options | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Property status | Off-Plan / Ready | Whether the property was under construction (off-plan) or complete (ready) at time of transaction. |
| Transaction origin | Primary / Secondary | Whether the seller was the developer (primary) or a previous buyer/owner (secondary). |
This produces four transaction types: Off-Plan Primary, Off-Plan Secondary, Ready Primary, and Ready Secondary. DPL never combines these without explicit labelling. This distinction matters: off-plan primary volumes reflect developer launch activity; ready secondary volumes reflect true market liquidity.
Why this matters: Most aggregate "total transactions" figures combine all four types. A market with 1,000 off-plan primary deals looks very different from one with 1,000 ready secondary deals — even if the headline number is the same. DPL treats them as distinct data series throughout.
Handover tiers
DPL classifies every off-plan project in Dubai into one of four handover tiers, based on evidence of delivery:
| Tier | Definition | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | First recorded ready-sale or rental transaction exists in the DLD data. The project has empirically delivered at least one unit. | Highest — evidence-based |
| P2a | No transactions yet, but DLD project status is "Existing", "BCC", or ≥85% construction complete. | High — near delivery |
| P2b | Under construction, ≥60% complete, and expected to hand over within 18 months. | Medium — on track |
| P3 | All other projects — early-stage, delayed, or insufficient data to classify. | Lower — uncertain |
Handover tier is updated each time the database is refreshed. A project moves from P3 → P2b → P2a → P1 as evidence accumulates. A project cannot be downgraded from P1.
Community names
DPL uses community names exactly as they appear in the DLD register — no reformatting, no abbreviations, no appended "Dubai". This is required for data joins to work correctly. Where communities have common shorthand names (e.g., "JVC" for Jumeirah Village Circle), DPL uses the shorthand in UI display but stores and processes the exact DLD name.
Update cadence
| Data type | Update frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sales transactions | Weekly — every Wednesday | DLD typically registers transactions with a 1–3 day lag. MTD figures may undercount recent transactions. |
| Rental transactions | Weekly — every Wednesday | Rental registrations (Ejari) are included from the DLD record. |
| Mortgage transactions | Weekly — every Wednesday | Includes bank and non-bank mortgage registrations. |
| Handover tiers | Weekly — with transaction refresh | Tiers are re-derived from the spine on each refresh. |
Known limitations
Off-plan registration lag. Off-plan transactions are typically registered with the DLD 30–90 days after the actual sale date. This means off-plan figures — particularly for recent months — systematically undercount true activity. DPL excludes off-plan data from short-window conflict or event analyses where registration lag would distort results, and notes the omission when it occurs.
No price-per-sqft for all transactions. Unit size is not available for every transaction in the DLD record. Price-per-sqft calculations are based on the subset of transactions with size data. We note the coverage rate where this is relevant.
Community coverage. DPL covers all communities in the DLD register. Some very small communities have limited transaction histories — community-level analysis is most reliable for communities with ≥20 transactions in the reference period.
No off-market data. The DLD record captures registered transactions only. Private deals that are not DLD-registered are not included — which means DPL accurately reflects the formal market, not the total market.