The Old Town
What apartments in The Old Town cost, how prices and rents have moved since 2009, every building with its figures, and what it is like to live there. All of it from Dubai Land Department records.
About The Old Town
The Old Town is a low-rise residential district inside Downtown Dubai, close to Al Asayel Street. Emaar developed it, and it was completed in 2006. Its name comes from its architecture: the buildings take their style from traditional Arabian design rather than the glass towers around it. The district has 35 buildings and 1,536 apartments, spread across six quarters: Yansoon, Zaafaran, Reehan, Zanzebeel, Kamoon and Miska. Each building is named after its quarter and a number. Kamoon 1, Reehan 7 and Yansoon 5 are among the largest. The Old Town sits next to the high-rise core of Downtown Dubai, so Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall and Souk Al Bahar are all close by. Paths for walking link the apartment blocks and the quarters.
The Old Town is an apartment district of about 1,536 apartments, built from 2006 onwards. 35 buildings are complete. A typical building here has about 44 homes; the tallest, Reehan 7, has 9 floors. Every building was built by one developer, Emaar.
Over the last 12 months 101 apartments changed hands in The Old Town at a median of AED 2,351 per sqft, up 6.1% on the year before. The typical sale was AED 3M for a 1,288 sqft apartment. One-beds are the largest share of the apartments at 49%, followed by two-beds at 40%; three-beds are 10% and four-beds and larger make up 1%. Rents run at AED 118 per sqft a year, a gross yield of 5.0% at today's prices, below the Dubai-wide 6.0%.
737 rental contracts were registered in the same 12 months, 48% of them renewals, and a typical apartment rents for AED 130,000 a year.
- Buildings
- 35
- Homes
- about 1,536
- First completions
- 2006
In this guide
The Old Town, DubaiOpen the map →
Average prices in The Old Town
In The Old Town, typical sale prices over the last 12 months were around AED 2.1M for one-beds, AED 3.4M for two-beds and AED 5.8M for three-beds. Per square foot the larger homes cost more too: three-beds at about AED 2,509 against AED 2,178 for one-beds. Sales ranged from AED 900,000 to AED 7.1M, and 44 of the 101 were two-beds, the most traded type.
Every one of those sales was a completed home: nothing in The Old Town sold off-plan in the last 12 months.
| Type | Typical price | Per sqft | 12-mo change | Sales (12 mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-bed | AED 2,100,000 | AED 2,178 | Up 0.1% | 46 |
| 2-bed | AED 3,350,000 | AED 2,381 | Up 5.5% | 47 |
| 3-bed | AED 5,775,000 | AED 2,509 | Few sales | 8 |
Medians of the last 12 months of DLD sales, per type. A change needs ten records in each year.
What is in The Old Town
About half of The Old Town's apartments are studios and one-beds; even so the typical sale here, 1,288 sqft, is larger than the Dubai median of about 826 sqft. There are no villas or townhouses; the few three-bed and larger homes are in the taller towers such as Reehan 7.
| Type | Homes | Share | Typical size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 4 | 0% | 605–606 sqft |
| 1-bed | 758 | 49% | 863–1,010 sqft |
| 2-bed | 611 | 40% | 1,293–1,432 sqft |
| 3-bed | 151 | 10% | 1,883–2,154 sqft |
| 4-bed+ | 12 | 1% | 3,106–3,181 sqft |
- Tallest, 9 floors
- Reehan 7
- Typical building
- 44 homes
Counted from DLD unit records of 35 completed buildings.
Prices and rents in The Old Town since 2008
- 1 year
- Up 6.1%
- 5 years
- Up 78.4%
- Since 2009
- Up 81.0%
- 1 year
- Down 3.1%
- 5 years
- Up 47.7%
- Since 2012
- Up 28.2%
The Old Town's first registered sales, in 2009, were at about AED 1,300 per sqft. They have risen in most years since, to AED 2,351 over the last 12 months. The steepest recent climb was in 2024, when the annual median rose 15%. Year on year the annual median has gone up 15% in 2024, up 11% in 2025 and down 1% so far in 2026. The busiest month of the last year was January 2026, with 18 sales registered. On the monthly median of every registered sale, prices are up 6.1% over the last 12 months, up 78.4% over five years and up 81% on the 2009 level. Rents are down 3.1% over the last 12 months, up 47.7% over five years and up 28.2% since 2012, so rents now rise more slowly than prices and gross yields are easing.
Nothing is under construction in The Old Town today, so the stock is what it is: 35 buildings and about 1,536 homes. The figures on this page refresh monthly as new sales and contracts are registered.
Median of every sale and rental contract registered each month, smoothed over three months; months with fewer than ten records sit between their neighbours. Source: Dubai Land Department.
Price history in The Old Town
Every registered sale in The Old Town in the last 12 months; the dashed line is the trend, grey dots are flagged outliers left out of it.
Transaction history in The Old Town
- 1-bed · 917 sqftCompletedZaafaran 2 23 Oct 2026AED 1,900,0002,070 /sqft
- 1-bed · 943 sqftCompletedReehan 6 20 Oct 2026AED 1,870,0001,981 /sqft
- 1-bed · 979 sqftCompletedReehan 4 13 Oct 2026AED 1,940,0001,980 /sqft
- 2-bed · 1,353 sqftCompletedReehan 7 12 Oct 2026AED 3,185,0002,352 /sqft
- 2-bed · 1,506 sqftCompletedZaafaran 3 05 Oct 2026AED 3,600,0002,389 /sqft
- 1-bed · 729 sqftCompletedYansoon 4 28 Sep 2026AED 1,800,0002,469 /sqft
- 2-bed · 1,405 sqftCompletedYansoon 2 28 Sep 2026AED 3,500,0002,491 /sqft
- 2-bed · 1,405 sqftCompletedReehan 1 09 Sep 2026AED 3,350,0002,384 /sqft
- 2-bed · 1,209 sqftCompletedYansoon 5 08 Sep 2026AED 3,050,0002,521 /sqft
- 1-bed · 964 sqftCompletedZanzebeel 1 07 Sep 2026AED 2,400,0002,487 /sqft
Over the last 12 months The Old Town recorded 101 sales; typical homes sold for around AED 3M (about AED 2,351 per sqft); with a median size of 1,288 sqft; most were 2-beds; from roughly AED 900K to AED 7.13M.
Buildings in The Old Town
35 completed| Zaafaran 3 | 2006 | 44 | AED 2,355 | AED 126 | 5.4% | 8 | |
| Reehan 7 | 2006 | 65 | AED 2,404 | AED 126 | 5.2% | 7 | |
| Kamoon 1 | 2006 | 68 | AED 2,296 | AED 118 | 5.1% | 6 | |
| Yansoon 5 | 2006 | 64 | AED 2,448 | AED 129 | 5.3% | 6 | |
| Zanzebeel 1 | 2006 | 38 | AED 2,314 | AED 122 | 5.3% | 6 | |
| Zanzebeel 2 | 2006 | 52 | AED 1,781 | AED 111 | 6.2% | 6 | |
| Reehan 1 | 2006 | 63 | AED 2,377 | AED 125 | 5.3% | 5 | |
| Zanzebeel 3 | 2006 | 44 | AED 2,255 | AED 111 | 4.9% | 5 | |
| Miska 2 | 2006 | 63 | AED 2,209 | AED 118 | 5.3% | 4 | |
| Reehan 6 | 2006 | 43 | AED 2,291 | AED 121 | 5.3% | 4 |
The eight busiest buildings account for 49 of The Old Town's 101 sales in the last 12 months: Zaafaran 3, Reehan 7, Kamoon 1, Yansoon 5 and Zanzebeel 1 and three more. Gross yields run from 4.9% to 6.2% across the buildings with enough sales and lets to measure. The newest are Zaafaran 3 (2006) and Reehan 7 (2006); the oldest, Zaafaran 3, handed over in 2006. Every building links to its own page with each unit's sales and rents.
Every building in The Old Town, A to Z
- Kamoon 1 AED 2,296
- Kamoon 2 AED 2,057
- Kamoon 3
- Kamoon 4 AED 2,101
- Miska 1 AED 2,331
- Miska 2 AED 2,209
- Miska 3 AED 2,146
- Miska 4 AED 2,474
- Miska 5 AED 2,119
- Reehan 1 AED 2,377
- Reehan 2
- Reehan 3 AED 2,662
- Reehan 4 AED 1,979
- Reehan 5 AED 2,485
- Reehan 6 AED 2,291
- Reehan 7 AED 2,404
- Reehan 8 AED 2,193
- Yansoon 1 AED 2,785
- Yansoon 2 AED 2,774
- Yansoon 3
- Yansoon 4 AED 2,349
- Yansoon 5 AED 2,448
- Yansoon 6 AED 2,665
- Yansoon 7 AED 2,083
- Yansoon 8
- Yansoon 9
- Zaafaran 1 AED 2,366
- Zaafaran 2 AED 2,124
- Zaafaran 3 AED 2,355
- Zaafaran 4 AED 2,329
- Zaafaran 5
- Zanzebeel 1 AED 2,314
- Zanzebeel 2 AED 1,781
- Zanzebeel 3 AED 2,255
- Zanzebeel 4
Rents and yields in The Old Town
Last 12 months| Studio | AED 87,500 | AED 145 | Few sales | 2 | |
| 1-bed | AED 115,000 | AED 117 | AED 2.1M | 5.4% | 412 |
| 2-bed | AED 170,000 | AED 120 | AED 3.35M | 5.0% | 285 |
| 3-bed | AED 250,000 | AED 113 | AED 5.78M | 4.5% | 37 |
| 4-bed+ | AED 600,000 | AED 193 | Few sales | 1 |
- New contract vs renewal
- −5%
- Renewals
- 48% of 737
737 rental contracts were registered in The Old Town in the last 12 months, 48% of them renewals. New contracts were signed about 5% below renewals per sqft: the market rate has slipped under what sitting tenants pay. Gross yields run from 5.4% on one-beds to 4.5% on three-beds, before service charges of AED 19 to 22 per sqft a year.
Ejari registrations via Dubai Land Department; yields use the same 12 months of sales.
Who builds in The Old Town
1 developer- Emaar35 buildingsAED 2,322 /sqft
Emaar built every one of The Old Town's 35 completed buildings, so the area has one look, one management company and one service charge regime.
Buying or renting in The Old Town
Buying
Expect a 20% deposit as a UAE resident or 25% as a non-resident on a home under AED 5M, plus the 4% Dubai Land Department transfer fee and about AED 5,000 of registration and trustee costs. On a typical one-bed at AED 2.1M, that is AED 420,000 down and AED 84,000 in transfer fee. Before offering, check the service charge per sqft on the building page (AED 19 to 22 across The Old Town), the registered size against the marketed one, and whether the unit has sold before and at what price.
Renting
A typical one-bed rents for AED 115,000 a year and a two-bed AED 170,000. Increases on renewal are capped by the RERA rental index. Landlords in Dubai usually take one to four cheques and a 5% security deposit, and every contract is registered on Ejari, which is where the figures on this page come from.
Living in The Old Town
Most of The Old Town's buildings are small, with a typical 44 homes each. Service charges run from AED 19 to 22 per sqft a year, set building by building and listed on each building page.
Nearby areas compared
All Dubai areas →| Area | Sale /sqft | 12-mo change | Typical rent | Yield | Buildings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Old Town | AED 2,351 | Up 6.1% | AED 130K | 5.0% | 35 |
| Downtown Dubai | AED 2,770 | Down 3.5% | AED 146K | 5.0% | 104 |
| Business Bay | AED 2,332 | Down 4.0% | AED 90K | 5.1% | 187 |
| City Walk | AED 2,676 | Up 0.1% | AED 220K | 5.3% | 36 |
| Dubai Design District | AED 2,551 | Down 3.5% | 3 | ||
| Trade Center First | AED 5,336 | AED 115K | 2.6% | 3 | |
| Al Wasl | AED 3,382 | Up 2.2% | AED 130K | 4.8% | 27 |
The Old Town is about 15% cheaper per square foot than Downtown Dubai, its nearest neighbour, at AED 2,351 against AED 2,770. Trade Center First is the most expensive of the areas around it at AED 5,336 per sqft, 127% more. Its closest comparables on price are Business Bay and Dubai Design District. At 5.0%, its gross yield is the highest of the group.
The Old Town in numbers
- Across 101 DLD sales in the 12 months to 9 November 2026, the median price in The Old Town was AED 2,351 per sqft and the typical apartment sold for about AED 3M.
- Prices are up 6.1% on the year, 78.4% over five years and 81% since 2009; rents down 3.1% and 47.7% over the same periods.
- 35 completed buildings from 1 developer; about 1,536 homes, 50% of the apartments studios and one-beds.
- Gross yields of 5.4% on one-beds, 5.0% on two-beds and 4.5% on three-beds, before service charges of AED 19 to 22 per sqft.
Source: Dubai Land Department. Updated 8 November 2026.
Questions about The Old Town
How much does an apartment in The Old Town cost?
Over the 12 months to 9 November 2026 the median was AED 2,351 per sqft, and one-beds sold for around AED 2.1M, two-beds sold for around AED 3.4M and three-beds sold for around AED 5.8M.
Have prices in The Old Town gone up?
Yes: up 6.1% in the 12 months to 9 November 2026 and up 78.4% over five years, on the monthly median of every registered sale. Over the whole record they are 81% above the 2009 level.
What is the rental yield in The Old Town?
About 5.0% gross across all types at today's prices: 5.4% on one-beds, 5.0% on two-beds and 4.5% on three-beds, before service charges of AED 19 to 22 per sqft a year.
Which are the most traded buildings in The Old Town?
Zaafaran 3 (8 sales), Reehan 7 (7 sales), Kamoon 1 (6 sales), Yansoon 5 (6 sales) and Zanzebeel 1 (6 sales) in the last 12 months.
What is the service charge in The Old Town?
Between AED 19 and AED 22 per sqft a year, set building by building; Zaafaran 2 is AED 18.75. Each building page lists its own.
How many buildings are there in The Old Town?
35 completed apartment buildings, with about 1,536 homes between them. Every one has its own page here.
What does it cost to rent in The Old Town?
The median contract in the 12 months to 9 November 2026 was AED 130,000 a year: AED 115,000 for one-beds, AED 170,000 for two-beds and AED 250,000 for three-beds, across 737 Ejari registrations.
For sale with OpenOffers in The Old Town
No The Old Town property is on the board today. Follow The Old Town to hear the day one is listed, or see what is for sale across Dubai with every offer public.