Portofino DAMAC Lagoons Dubai

Portofino is the Italy-themed cluster at DAMAC Lagoons, DAMAC Properties' lagoon community off Al Qudra Road in Dubailand. It is the widest-ranging cluster in the community: three, four and five bedroom townhouses of 2,076 to 3,256 sq ft and seven-bedroom villas of 7,303 to 12,260 sq ft around the swimmable lagoons.

Townhouses launched from AED 1,569,000 (about Rs 4.04 crore) and villas from AED 7,295,000, on a choice of three payment plans, with handover on record for June 2025. The source listing carries no price; the figures here are the launch prices recorded by propsearch and the developer's brokers, set against what a resale costs in the community now. Sister clusters we track: Nice, Venice, Mykonos, Santorini and Malta. Every Dubai project: the Dubai section and projects.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

The launch rate is the number to remember: about AED 756 per sq ft of built-up area on the entry townhouse, which was among the lowest in any Dubai villa community at the time. The resale market has re-rated it. DAMAC Lagoons townhouses now average about AED 3.17 million on asking prices, and the range runs from about AED 2.1 million to over AED 6.5 million by bedroom count and lagoon frontage. A Portofino four-bed today is therefore priced near AED 1,000 to 1,500 per sq ft, in line with the first DAMAC Hills and still below Arabian Ranches III.

The villa tier is a separate market. AED 999 per sq ft for a 7,303 sq ft home is cheap by the standard of Dubai villas, and it is cheap because of where it is: the buyers for a 12,000 sq ft house on Al Qudra Road are few, and the exit is measured in months. Price it as a home to keep, not a trade.

Payment plan and total cost

Three plans were sold, which is unusual for a villa cluster and worth setting out:

Worked on the AED 1,569,000 entry townhouse under the 20/40/40 plan: AED 313,800 on booking, AED 627,600 through construction and AED 627,600 at handover, plus the 4% DLD fee of AED 62,760 paid at Oqood registration and an Oqood fee of about AED 1,050 to 4,200. Total to handover about AED 1,635,000. A buyer taking over a launch contract pays the seller's paid-in amount plus the premium and a DAMAC no-objection certificate fee, and continues the schedule.

After handover the running cost is the townhouse's advantage: about AED 3 to 5 per sq ft a year, so AED 6,000 to 16,000 on the townhouse sizes and AED 20,000 to 60,000 on the villas, against AED 10 to 30 per sq ft for a Dubai apartment. The DLD-approved budget is set after handover and published on Mollak.

Location and connectivity

DAMAC Lagoons sits on Al Qudra Road beside DAMAC Hills and its Trump International Golf Club, on the corridor shared with Arabian Ranches and Mudon. Downtown and Business Bay are about 30 to 35 minutes by car, Dubai Autodrome and Motor City about 15, Al Maktoum International Airport about 30 and Dubai International about 35 to 40. There is no Metro. Portofino residents will live beside construction until the last clusters complete, which is the normal first-years condition of a Dubailand master community and is already in the price.

Amenities and specifications

Portofino is marketed on Italian Riviera styling: coloured facades, terraces, private gardens, covered parking, and pools on the villa plots. Interiors are DAMAC's Lagoons standard with fitted kitchens and built-in wardrobes. The community supplies the rest: swimmable crystal lagoons, a wave pool, a floating cinema, sports courts and a retail hub. Ask for the SPA floor plan rather than the brochure before relying on a bedroom count or a plot size; the seven-bed villas in particular vary a great deal in plot.

About the developer

DAMAC Properties, founded in 2002, is one of the largest private developers in Dubai, with 50,000 homes handed over, more than 54,000 under construction and 8,800 units delivered in 2026. DAMAC Lagoons is the largest part of that programme and its handovers began with Santorini in November 2025. DLD data shows an average 6 to 12 month delay on DAMAC projects delivered in 2023 and 2024, and the neighbouring Malta cluster slipped about a year. Portofino will be delivered; its June 2025 date should be read as a floor.

For Indian buyers

DAMAC Lagoons is freehold, so an Indian citizen owns a Portofino home outright with a DLD title deed, with no annual property tax and no UAE tax on rent. Funding is the constraint. A townhouse at the community's AED 3.17 million average is about USD 863,000, which takes three or four remitters under the USD 250,000 per person Liberalised Remittance Scheme allowance, or several financial years, or an instalment schedule whose tranches fit inside annual allowances; the five-year 50/50 plan was the most useful for that. A villa at AED 7.3 million, about USD 2 million, is an eight-allowance-year purchase for one remitter and is realistically funded by a family together or by a UAE mortgage against the property. Tax collected at source applies above the current threshold and is credited on your return.

Every Portofino unit clears the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold. Rent is taxable in India for a resident at slab rates as income from house property with the 30% standard deduction; a four-bed in the DAMAC communities lets for roughly AED 150,000 to 200,000 a year. The property goes into Schedule FA every year you hold it.

Pros

• The widest range in the community: a 2,076 sq ft townhouse and a 12,260 sq ft villa in the same cluster
• An implied launch rate near AED 756 per sq ft on the entry townhouse, which the resale market has since re-rated
• Three plans including a five-year 50/50, unusual flexibility for a villa cluster
• Villa-type running costs of about AED 3 to 5 per sq ft a year
• Every unit clears the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold on current prices

Cons

• Launch pricing is gone; a buyer today pays a resale premium that roughly doubles the townhouse entry
• No Metro and a 30 to 35 minute drive to Downtown
• The handover date has two versions in the sources, and the community's record is 6 to 12 months of delay
• Villas at AED 7.3 million and up sit in a thin resale market this far from the coast
• No cluster project number is printed, so the DLD status has to be checked by hand

Who this is for

• Families who want a garden home at Dubailand prices and will drive
• Buyers who want a Golden Visa from one purchase
• Holders of a launch contract weighing an exit against holding to handover

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone who needs a Metro or a short commute
• Buyers who cannot absorb a year's delay
• Villa buyers who need a deep, fast resale market

Our verdict

Portofino is the cluster that shows the whole DAMAC Lagoons proposition in one place: a townhouse at a launch rate near AED 756 per sq ft that the market has since roughly doubled, and a villa tier at AED 7.3 million and up that is a different product for a different buyer. The townhouse half of the story is straightforward. A family buying to live gets four bedrooms, a garden, lagoon amenities and villa-level running costs for a price Dubai Hills or Arabian Ranches will not match, in exchange for a 30 minute drive and a community that is still finishing. The villa half needs more care: a 12,000 sq ft home this far inland sells to a narrow pool of buyers, and the exit is slow. The delivery record is the other thing to price in. DAMAC finishes what it starts, but its 2023 and 2024 handovers ran 6 to 12 months late and Malta next door slipped a year, so Portofino's June 2025 date is the earliest case, not the expected one. Read the DLD status report before you rely on it.

A townhouse here bought to live in, on a resale checked against the DLD status report, is a sound family purchase at Dubailand prices. The villa tier is for buyers who will hold for a decade. Neither is an investor's short-term trade any more; the launch-to-resale re-rating has already happened.

Talk to Realty Hunting for the current price list, the developer's latest payment plan and a site-visit plan.

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 Portofino cost?

At launch, townhouses from AED 1,569,000 (2,076 sq ft) and villas from AED 7,295,000 (7,303 sq ft). That inventory is sold; community townhouses now average about AED 3.17 million on resale asks, and a Portofino townhouse will sit inside the community's AED 2.1 to 6.5 million range depending on plot and lagoon frontage.

What payment plans were offered?

Three: 20% down, 40% through construction and 40% at handover; 70% through construction and 30% at handover; and a five-year plan with 50% through construction and 50% at handover. A resale buyer takes over whichever schedule the seller signed.

When is handover?

June 2025 on record, with one source quoting Q1 2025. Santorini, the community's first cluster, started handing over in November 2025 and Malta ran about a year late, so check the DLD status report for Portofino before relying on a date.

What is the rate per sq ft?

About AED 756 on the entry townhouse and about AED 999 on the entry villa at launch prices. On the community's current resale average the townhouse rate is roughly AED 1,000 to 1,500 depending on the unit's size.

What are the service charges?

DAMAC Lagoons townhouses are quoted at about AED 3 to 5 per sq ft a year, so roughly AED 6,000 to 16,000 on a 2,076 to 3,256 sq ft home. Villas of 7,000 sq ft and up are charged on the same per-foot basis, so budget AED 20,000 to 60,000. The DLD-approved budget is set after handover.

Is there a Golden Visa?

Yes. Every Portofino unit clears the AED 2 million threshold on current prices, and the villas did so at launch.

Can an Indian citizen buy, and how is it funded?

Yes, the community is freehold. A AED 3 million townhouse is about USD 817,000, so it needs several remitters or years under the USD 250,000 per person LRS allowance, or an instalment plan whose tranches fit annual allowances. Rent is taxable in India for a resident and the asset goes into Schedule FA.

How does Portofino compare with the other clusters?

Santorini launched from AED 1.49 million and has handed over; Malta from AED 1.75 million; Nice from AED 1.706 million; Mykonos from AED 2.47 million; Venice's standalone villas from AED 4.9 million. Portofino's townhouse entry was the second-lowest, and it is the only cluster besides Venice with a seven-bedroom villa tier.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Damac Lagoons: Damac Santorini (from AED 1.49 M, ready), Nice Villas (from AED 1,706,000, off-plan), Malta Townhouses (from AED 1.75 M, handover 2026) and Marbella Townhouses (from AED 1.9 M, off-plan). See every DAMAC Lagoons project with prices and handover dates.

More by DAMAC: Damac Upper Crest (from AED 1,650,000, ready), Green Acres at DAMAC Hills (from AED 1,660,000, ready) and The Turf Villas at Damac Hills (from AED 1,750,000, ready).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Maha Townhouses (from AED 1.78 M, ready), Emaar Ruba (from AED 1.79 M, ready) and Park Villas (from AED 1.8 M, ready).

Read next: Property for Sale in DAMAC Lagoons: Prices and Yields · DAMAC Projects in Dubai: Prices, Clusters and the Delivery Record · Off-Plan Property in Dubai: How It Works · Dubai Property Payment Plans: 1% Monthly, Post-Handover and More · Villas and Townhouses for Sale in Dubai: Prices and Returns. Every Dubai project we track is listed on the Dubai section.