DAMAC Islands Al Yelayiss Dubai

DAMAC Islands is a 30 million sq ft master community in Dubailand holding 5,915 townhouses and villas across island-themed clusters — Maldives, Bora Bora, Seychelles, Hawaii, Bali and Fiji in the first phase, with Mauritius, Maui, Cuba, Barbados, Bermuda, Tahiti, Bahamas and Antigua following in the second.

Four-bedroom townhouses start at about AED 2.75 M (about Rs 7.08 crore) at roughly 2,185 sq ft, five-bedrooms run 2,829 to 3,158 sq ft, and villas reach about AED 18.9 M. The plan is 75/25 and handover starts from Q4 2028. One number frames the whole page: about AED 1,259 per sq ft for a new family house that clears the Golden Visa threshold at entry. See the rest of the Dubai section or our wider projects list.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

The source listing carries the project without a price. These are the developer's and portals' figures, and one of them has moved since the launch.

The AED 2.25 M figure still sits on a number of pages and is no longer what a townhouse costs. Prices have moved up by roughly half a million dirhams since launch — normal for a large scheme selling in phases, and a reason to work from a current cluster price list rather than any published headline.

On rate, about AED 1,259 per sq ft is competitive for new villa stock, and the more important point is what it buys: a genuine four-bedroom house of 2,185 sq ft, not a compressed layout. Against the established villa districts closer to town that is a real discount, and the distance from central Dubai is what you pay for it.

Payment and total cost

The structure on the clusters we could check is 75/25 — 75% across construction, 25% at handover. That is front-loaded by Dubai standards: most large villa schemes spread 60 to 70% over the build and leave more at completion. Here you fund three-quarters of the price before you have keys, across a build of two to four years.

Add 2% if you buy through a broker. Then the line nobody publishes: the community service charge. Lagoons, beaches, wave pools and an aqua dome are expensive infrastructure, and in a master community that cost comes back per square foot on every home. On a 2,185 sq ft townhouse, AED 4 against AED 8 per sq ft is nearly AED 9,000 a year, every year. Ask DAMAC for the estimate in writing.

Location and connectivity

Al Yelayiss 1 sits in Dubailand, the southern belt where most of Dubai's new villa communities have been built, on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road. DAMAC Lagoons and DAMAC Hills are the neighbours, with Global Village nearby.

Be clear about the distances. Downtown Dubai is roughly 30 to 35 minutes on a clear road and the airport 35 to 40, with no metro announced for this sector. This is a car community, and the trade is space and price against time on the road — the reason the rate per square foot is what it is.

For DAMAC communities we already cover, see DAMAC Santorini and Mykonos at DAMAC Lagoons.

Amenities and specifications

Four- and five-bedroom townhouses and six- and seven-bedroom villas. The four-bed is around 2,185 sq ft with defined living and dining areas and private outdoor space; the five-bed runs 2,829 to 3,158 sq ft with a maid's room and, on some units, a larger plot. Villa sizes are not published.

The amenity programme is the selling proposition rather than the houses: more than 25 amenities on record, including crystal lagoons, private beaches, an aqua dome, wave pools, a wellness spa and a clubhouse. That is the reason to ask one specific question — which of these are contracted for delivery alongside my cluster's phase? In a community built over six years, headline facilities frequently complete later than the first homes, and an answer in the sale documents beats one in a brochure.

About the developer

DAMAC Properties is one of the largest private developers in Dubai and builds master communities at scale — DAMAC Hills, DAMAC Lagoons and now DAMAC Islands, which at 30 million sq ft and 5,915 homes is among the biggest schemes it has launched. It is a long-established, listed name, not a first-time developer.

The most useful fact for a buyer here is that DAMAC has delivered communities of exactly this type before, and you can go and see them. Visit DAMAC Lagoons and DAMAC Hills: walk the completed clusters, look at how the lagoons and amenity decks have been maintained a few years after handover, ask an owner what the community charge actually came to, and see how the early phases have aged.

The sources we checked do not publish DLD delivery-performance statistics for DAMAC, so those finished communities are the evidence available — and they are better evidence than any brochure or any page, including this one. Spend a Saturday on it before you commit AED 2.75 M.

For Indian buyers

This is freehold, so an Indian citizen can own here outright with a DLD title deed, in their own name. Dubai charges no annual property tax; the recurring cost is the community service charge, which on a scheme with this much shared infrastructure deserves the scrutiny set out above.

At about AED 2.75 M — roughly USD 750,000 — the purchase needs three people's USD 250,000 Liberalised Remittance Scheme allowances, or a schedule spread across three financial years. The 75/25 construction plan does that naturally: money leaves India in instalments over a two- to four-year build rather than in a lump. Plan the schedule against your financial years before you book, and keep the Schedule FA reporting in mind from the first payment.

On residency, this is the strong point. Every home in the community is above the AED 2 M Golden Visa property threshold, starting at about AED 2.75 M — and most Dubai stock at that price is an apartment, not a four-bedroom house. If a ten-year visa is part of why you are buying, this community delivers it at its entry price. On tax at home, rental income from Dubai is taxable in India for a resident at slab rates as income from house property with the standard 30% deduction, and the UAE takes nothing, so there is no credit to offset.

Pros

• Every home clears the AED 2 M Golden Visa threshold, which is unusual at this entry price
• About AED 1,259 per sq ft on a four-bedroom townhouse is competitive for new villa stock
• Townhouses of 2,185 to 3,158 sq ft are proper family houses, not compressed layouts
• A very large amenity programme — crystal lagoons, private beaches, wave pools, an aqua dome, a wellness spa
• DAMAC has delivered comparable communities nearby that you can walk through before buying
• A 30 million sq ft masterplan means its own retail and services rather than dependence on neighbours
• Two phases and many clusters, so genuine choice on layout, price and handover date

Cons

• The 75/25 plan is front-loaded — three-quarters of the price over a two- to four-year build
• Handover is two to four years away and no construction-progress figure is published
• Prices have already moved: AED 2.25 M still circulates against about AED 2.75 M now
• No community service charge is published, and lagoons and wave pools are expensive to run
• 5,915 homes is a very large supply of near-identical stock competing at resale and letting
• Dubailand is car-dependent, with Downtown 30 to 35 minutes away and no metro
• Villa sizes and prices above the townhouse range are not published

Who this is for

• Families who want a new four- or five-bedroom house well below Dubai's established villa districts
• Golden Visa buyers, for whom every home here clears the AED 2 M threshold
• Buyers who want resort-style amenities and will actually use lagoons, beaches and clubhouses
• Investors with a long horizon who can fund a front-loaded plan and wait for the community to mature

Who should look elsewhere

• Buyers who need a home in the next two years
• Anyone who cannot fund 75% before handover
• Investors who need rental income soon, or who are wary of 5,915 competing homes at resale
• People who need to be near central Dubai or on a metro line

Our verdict

DAMAC Islands is a large, well-priced villa community, and its clearest argument is one number: about AED 1,259 per sq ft for a new four-bedroom townhouse that clears the Golden Visa threshold at entry. Very little else in Dubai gives you a proper family house, a ten-year visa and resort infrastructure at AED 2.75 M. And unlike most off-plan sellers, DAMAC can show you finished versions of the same idea — walk DAMAC Lagoons and let the maintenance of its lagoons and amenity decks answer the quality question.

Three things need weighing. The plan is front-loaded, so 75% has to be genuinely available before handover. The scale cuts both ways: 5,915 homes means real retail and services eventually, and several thousand near-identical houses competing with yours when you let or sell. And the community charge is the great unknown — lagoons, beaches, wave pools and an aqua dome are expensive to run, that cost lands per square foot on every owner, and no figure is published. Get an estimate in writing, get the amenity delivery schedule for your cluster, and choose the cluster deliberately: it sets your price, your plan and your handover date.

Run this project's numbers yourself. The calculator opens on the price and unit size above; change the currency, the rent or the mortgage and it recalculates the fees, the cash you need on day one and the net rent.

FAQs

What does a home at DAMAC Islands cost?

The current starting price is about AED 2.75 M (about Rs 7.08 crore) for a four-bedroom townhouse of roughly 2,185 sq ft, which works out near AED 1,259 per sq ft. Five-bedroom townhouses run 2,829 to 3,158 sq ft, and villas go up to about AED 18.9 M. An earlier starting figure of AED 2.25 M still circulates on some pages — treat it as historic and ask for the current cluster price list.

What is the payment plan?

75/25 on the clusters we could check: 75% across construction and 25% at handover. On a AED 2.75 M townhouse that is about AED 2,062,500 during the build and AED 687,500 at completion, plus the 4% DLD fee of AED 110,000. It is front-loaded compared with most Dubai villa schemes, so make sure the construction-period funding is genuinely available.

When is handover?

From Q4 2028 for the first phase, with second-phase clusters running to Q4 2029 and June 2030. Which date applies depends entirely on the cluster you buy in — two buyers at DAMAC Islands can be two years apart. Get the anticipated completion date on your own Oqood registration rather than relying on the community's headline date.

What are the clusters?

The first phase has six island-themed clusters — Maldives, Bora Bora, Seychelles, Hawaii, Bali and Fiji. The second phase adds Mauritius, Maui, Cuba, Barbados, Bermuda, Tahiti, Bahamas and Antigua. Prices, plans and handover dates vary by cluster, so the cluster is the unit of decision here, not the community.

Does the purchase qualify for a Golden Visa?

Yes, and comfortably. Every home in this community is above the AED 2 M property threshold, starting at about AED 2.75 M. That is unusual at this entry price — most Dubai stock at AED 2.75 M is an apartment. Confirm the DLD-registered value of your specific unit as part of the application.

How big are the houses?

Four-bedroom townhouses come in at around 2,185 sq ft with defined living and dining areas and private outdoor space. Five-bedroom townhouses run 2,829 to 3,158 sq ft with a maid's room and larger plots on some units. Six- and seven-bedroom villa sizes are not published by the sources we checked.

What are the service charges likely to be?

None is published, and this is the question to press hardest. Crystal lagoons, private beaches, wave pools and an aqua dome are expensive infrastructure, and in a master community those costs come back as a community charge per square foot on every home. On a 2,185 sq ft townhouse, the difference between AED 4 and AED 8 per sq ft is nearly AED 9,000 a year. Ask DAMAC for the estimated figure in writing.

Will all the amenities be ready when my house is?

Not necessarily, and this is worth asking about explicitly. In a 30 million sq ft community built in phases, headline facilities frequently complete later than the first homes. Ask which amenities are contracted for delivery alongside your cluster's phase, and get the answer in the sale documents rather than from a brochure.

Who is the developer, and what is the record?

DAMAC Properties, one of Dubai's largest private developers, which has built master communities of this type before — DAMAC Hills and DAMAC Lagoons among them. The sources we checked do not publish DLD delivery-performance statistics for the company, so the best evidence available is the finished communities. Go and walk DAMAC Lagoons: look at the lagoons, the amenity decks and the common areas a few years after handover, and judge from that.

Can an Indian citizen buy here?

Yes. This is freehold, so any nationality can own outright with a DLD title deed. At about AED 2.75 M — roughly USD 750,000 — the purchase needs three people's USD 250,000 LRS allowances or a payment schedule spread across three financial years, which the 75/25 construction plan naturally does. It is one of the more straightforward large purchases to fund from India for that reason.

If you want the current cluster price lists, the estimated community service charge and the amenity delivery schedule, talk to Realty Hunting and we will get them for you.