The Acres by Meraas Dubailand Dubai

The Acres is Meraas's standalone villa community in Dubailand, built around swimmable lagoons with the Halo Loop Park wrapping the water and linking its neighbourhoods. The houses are detached rather than terraced: three, four and five-bedroom villas of about 3,084 to 6,001 sq ft, with seven-bedroom houses in the second phase.

Prices start at AED 5.09 million (about Rs 13.11 crore), five-bedroom villas from about AED 13.5 million and the seven-bedroom houses from about AED 20 million, on a 10/55/35 plan with handover around Q1 2028. Every UAE project we track sits in the Dubai section; the house market generally is on our villas and townhouses page.

At a glance

Price and unit pricing

Two things that matter more than the headline. The ladder inside this one community runs from AED 5.09 million to about AED 20 million, so when you come to price a resale later, make sure you are comparing the same collection rather than the same address. And lagoon-front plots carry a premium over the rest - the entry price is very unlikely to be on the water, so ask exactly which plot the quote refers to before you treat AED 5.09 million as the price of the community.

Payment plan and total cost

10% at booking, 55% in instalments through construction, 35% at handover, with the 4% DLD registration fee due at the start. Our note on Dubai payment plans covers these splits.

Sixty-five per cent is paid before the house exists. That is standard for Dubai villas - post-handover plans are an apartment product - so it is not a mark against this project, but it is the cash reality of buying a house off-plan in this market.

Service charges are not yet published. Dubailand villa charges run about AED 3 to 8 per sq ft a year, so a 3,084 sq ft house should land between roughly AED 9,000 and AED 25,000. We would budget at the top of that band, for a specific reason: swimmable water is maintained water. Filtration, treatment and supervision are real line items, and they fall on the owners' association.

Location and connectivity

Dubailand is a belt of sub-communities along Al Ain Road (E66), between Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) and Emirates Road (E611), and it recorded more than 18,000 residential transactions in a single year. Arabian Ranches III and DAMAC Hills are the established villa neighbours in the same belt.

Global Village and IMG Worlds of Adventure are the district's landmarks; Dubai Hills Mall and Downtown are reached on E311. There is no metro here, so it is a car-dependent address. The second villa phase of the same community is covered on our page for The Acres Estates Phase 3, and the other large house communities we track in this belt are Haven by Aldar and Cassia Villas at The Wilds.

Amenities and specifications

The houses are detached and sit on their own plots, which is the first distinction to draw in a district where most of the competition is terraced. Layouts run three, four and five bedrooms from about 3,084 to 6,001 sq ft, with the second phase's seven-bedroom houses at about 10,911 sq ft saleable on a 14,516 sq ft plot.

The community is organised around the lagoons: swimmable water at the centre, the Halo Loop Park wrapping it and connecting the neighbourhoods, gardens, green open space and resort-style shared amenities. Finishes and plot boundaries are set per phase and per collection, so get the specification schedule and the plot plan attached to your own SPA rather than working from the launch material. Final as per the SPA.

About the developer

Meraas was founded in 2007 and has been part of Dubai Holding since June 2020, which makes it a state-linked developer rather than a private one - relevant on a purchase where 65% of the money moves before completion.

Its delivered work is the most recognisable of any developer in this batch. City Walk opened in 2016 and reshaped Al Wasl around a pedestrian street of apartments and open-air retail. La Mer remade the Jumeirah 1 coastline in 2017. Bluewaters Island, home to Ain Dubai, opened in 2018. Add Madinat Jumeirah Living and the Bulgari Resort and Residences on Jumeira Bay, and the total is more than 80 million sq ft delivered in Dubai and over 3,500 residential units, with recent handovers including Bulgari Ocean Mansions and City Walk Central Park. This is a developer whose finished work you can walk through on a Friday evening - a different order of evidence from a brochure.

For Indian buyers

Dubailand is freehold, so an Indian citizen owns the house outright with a title deed from the Dubai Land Department, and the UAE charges no annual property tax. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme each resident Indian may remit USD 250,000 per financial year, and a AED 5.09 million villa is about USD 1.39 million - so this needs several allowances across people and financial years. The plan running to 2028 spreads the payments, which makes it workable, but it needs to be mapped out before you book rather than improvised later.

Any house in this community clears the Golden Visa threshold of AED 2 million more than twice over, and on an off-plan purchase the equity actually paid is what counts, so the line is crossed during the plan. If you intend to let rather than live in the house, note that Dubailand villas earn about 4.5 to 6% gross against 6 to 8.5% for the district's apartments - our rental yield by area note sets that out. Rent is taxable in India in your hands with the standard 30% deduction on the annual value.

Pros

• Detached houses on their own plots, from about 3,084 sq ft
• A developer with 80 million sq ft delivered in Dubai and landmarks you can visit: City Walk, La Mer, Bluewaters
• Part of Dubai Holding, so a state-linked counterparty on a plan where 65% is paid before completion
• Handover around Q1 2028 - roughly eighteen months, the nearest villa date in this batch
• Swimmable lagoons and a connected park, a genuine differentiator in a district of ordinary compounds
• Villa service charges of AED 3 to 8 per sq ft, a fraction of apartment levels
• Every house clears the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold twice over or more

Cons

• AED 5.09 million is a substantial entry and 65% falls due before you have a house
• The internal price ladder runs to about AED 20 million, which muddies the resale comparison set
• Dubailand villa yields of 4.5 to 6% gross, below the district's apartments
• Service charges unpublished, and swimmable lagoons carry real maintenance cost
• The handover date is quoted two ways, Q4 2027 and Q1 2028
• Lagoon-front plots carry a premium, so the entry price is unlikely to be on the water
• No metro on this side of Dubailand

Who this is for

Families who want a detached freehold house on a roughly eighteen-month horizon; buyers who want a state-linked developer with visitable finished landmarks behind it; and Golden Visa buyers, for whom any house here clears the threshold with room to spare.

Who should look elsewhere

Yield-first investors, buyers who want post-handover instalments, anyone assuming the entry price buys a lagoon-front plot, and buyers who need schools and retail already trading around them.

Our verdict

The Acres has the shortest wait and the most recognisable developer of any villa project in this batch. Meraas has delivered more than 80 million sq ft in Dubai, and unlike almost every other name on these pages its work is somewhere you have probably already been. It is part of Dubai Holding, which on a plan where 65% of the money moves before the house exists is worth as much as any amenity. The product is detached houses on their own plots from about 3,084 sq ft, around water you can swim in, handing over in roughly eighteen months. Three cautions. The internal price ladder runs from AED 5.09 million to about AED 20 million, so compare collections rather than addresses when you price a resale. The lagoon-front plots carry a premium and the entry price is unlikely to be on the water, so ask which plot the quote covers. And budget the service charge at the top of the district's villa band, because swimmable water is maintained water. As a family house on a near date from a developer you can check by walking around one of its finished districts, this is sound. As a yield play at 4.5 to 6% gross, it is not.

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 villa at The Acres cost?

Three-bedroom villas start at about AED 5.09 million (about Rs 13.11 crore), five-bedroom from about AED 13.5 million, and the second phase's seven-bedroom houses from about AED 20 million. Sizes run about 3,084 to 6,001 sq ft, with the seven-bedroom at about 10,911 sq ft saleable on a 14,516 sq ft plot.

When is handover?

Q1 2028 on most sources, Q4 2027 on some - roughly eighteen months out either way, and the nearest villa handover in this batch.

What is the payment plan?

10% at booking, 55% through construction and 35% at handover, with the 4% DLD fee at the start. On the entry villa that is AED 509,000 to book, AED 203,600 to the DLD, about AED 2,799,500 across construction and AED 1,781,500 at handover.

Are the lagoons really swimmable?

That is how Meraas describes them, with the Halo Loop Park wrapping the water. Treat it as a cost as well as an amenity: filtration, treatment and supervision are real line items in a service-charge budget, which is why we would budget at the top of the district's AED 3 to 8 per sq ft villa band.

What are the service charges?

Not yet published. Dubailand villas run about AED 3 to 8 per sq ft a year against AED 10 to 32 for apartments, so roughly AED 9,000 to 25,000 on a 3,084 sq ft house.

What rental yield do Dubailand villas achieve?

About 4.5 to 6% gross, net typically 1.5 to 2 points lower - below the 6 to 8.5% the district's apartments earn. Houses here are bought for family use and capital rather than income.

Does a villa here qualify for the Golden Visa?

Comfortably - the entry villa is more than twice the AED 2 million threshold. On an off-plan purchase only the equity actually paid counts, so the line is crossed during the plan.

Who is Meraas?

A Dubai developer founded in 2007 and part of Dubai Holding since June 2020, with more than 80 million sq ft delivered in Dubai and over 3,500 residential units - City Walk (2016), La Mer (2017), Bluewaters Island (2018), Madinat Jumeirah Living and the Bulgari Resort and Residences. Recent handovers include Bulgari Ocean Mansions and City Walk Central Park.

Can an Indian citizen buy here?

Yes. Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme each resident Indian may remit USD 250,000 a financial year, and a AED 5.09 million villa is about USD 1.39 million - so it needs several allowances across people and financial years, which the plan to 2028 makes workable. Rent is taxable in India with the standard 30% deduction.

Talk to Realty Hunting if you want the current Acres release, the plot plans and a straight answer on which plots carry the lagoon premium.

Compare with other Dubai projects

Also in Dubailand: Cassia Villas at the The Wilds (from AED 5.1 M, handover 2029), Sobha Reserve (from AED 7.68 M, handover 2026), Haven by Aldar (from AED 2.3 M, handover 2027) and The Wilds by Aldar (from AED 1.6 M, handover 2030).

More by Meraas: Meraas Sur La Mer (from AED 4.65 M, ready), Meraas Bluewaters (from AED 2,290,000, ready) and Design Quarter (from AED 1.87 M, handover 2027).

A similar budget elsewhere in Dubai: Emaar Sidra (from AED 5.04 M, ready), Damac Hills The Flora (from AED 5,344,000, ready) and Elie Saab Villas 2 (from AED 4,820,888, ready).

Read next: 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.