"Is Dubai Sports City a good investment?" We cannot answer that about the future, and nobody honestly can. What we can show is how it worked out for people who bought here in each year since 2012. The answer is uneven. Dubai Sports City holds the single worst result among all 539 cards in our Dubai property game: a studio bought in 2015 at a median 640,000 AED sells for a median 470,000 AED today — −29%, or −195,600 AED (about −$53,300) after the transfer fee. The same district also produced gains of +51% to +66% for anyone who bought in 2020–2021.
All prices are medians of ready-apartment sales in the Dubai Land Department (DLD) register; rents are medians of Ejari-registered contracts. "Today" is the twelve months from 24.09.2025 to 23.09.2026.
This is a record of past transactions, not investment advice and not a forecast. Past results do not predict future ones. An area median is not the price of any particular flat — building, floor, view and condition can put a real unit far from it.
Dubai Sports City apartment prices today
| Unit | Median sale, AED | ≈ USD (peg 3.6725) | DLD sales, 12 months | Median rent, AED/year | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 470,000 | $128,000 | 451 | 40,000 | 8.5% |
| 1 bedroom | 700,000 | $190,600 | 459 | 56,000 | 8.0% |
| 2 bedrooms | 1,070,000 | $291,400 | 248 | 80,000 | 7.5% |
1,158 registered sales across the three types in a year, on the DLD register and our own pull of the live DLD open-data API. Gross yields (rent ÷ price) are among the highest in our data; how they compare with other districts is in rental yield by area.
The key fact behind everything else on this page: none of today's medians is back to its 2014–2015 peak. The studio is 27% below its 2015 median (470,000 vs 640,000), the one-bedroom 16% below (700,000 vs 831,932), the two-bedroom 11% below its 2014 median (1,070,000 vs 1,200,000).
Rise, peak and a six-year slide: 2012–2020
Sports City has no 2008–2011 history in our data: the game only estimates those years for districts that were already built by 2008. The series starts with registered sales in 2012.
| Year | Studio, AED | 1 bed, AED | 2 bed, AED | 1 bed sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 333,545 | 598,128 | 892,000 | 88 |
| 2013 | 370,000 | 671,300 | 916,650 | 611 |
| 2014 | 541,612 | 800,000 | 1,200,000 | 863 |
| 2015 | 640,000 | 831,932 | 1,192,688 | 526 |
| 2016 | 500,000 | 750,000 | 1,100,918 | 405 |
| 2017 | 490,000 | 734,000 | 1,072,500 | 320 |
| 2018 | 475,500 | 700,000 | 1,012,500 | 337 |
| 2019 | 350,000 | 525,000 | 755,000 | 234 |
| 2020 | 300,000 | 405,292 | 650,000 | 248 |
| 2021 | 300,000 | 422,000 | 644,586 | 287 |
| 2022 | 305,000 | 425,000 | 670,000 | 339 |
| 2023 | 360,000 | 500,000 | 757,847 | 535 |
| 2024 | 420,000 | 605,475 | 900,000 | 577 |
| 2025 | 464,248 | 675,000 | 1,013,270 | 580 |
| Today | 470,000 | 700,000 | 1,070,000 | 459 |
Studio sales in 2012 were only 57, so treat that first row as thin.
The run-up. Between 2013 and 2014 the studio median jumped 46% (370,000 → 541,612) and kept rising into 2015. Three things happened around then, all Dubai-wide: on 27.11.2013 the BIE chose Dubai to host Expo 2020, and the market rose to a peak in autumn 2014; in October 2013 the DLD transfer fee doubled from 2% to 4% (Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013); and the UAE Central Bank capped loan-to-value ratios for mortgages (Circular 31/2013).
Why 2015 turned. The IMF's Country Report 15/219 (August 2015) describes Dubai prices declining from mid-2014: a large pipeline of new homes, and weaker demand as oil got cheaper and the dollar, to which the dirham is pegged, got stronger. By annual median, Sports City studios and one-bedrooms peaked in 2015, while the citywide index had peaked in October 2014; from 2016 the district's medians fell year after year.
The long slide. The REIDIN index (published by the BIS) fell for six years, from its October 2014 peak to November 2020: −33% for Dubai as a whole. Sports City fell harder by its own medians. Peak to trough:
- Studio: 640,000 (2015) → 300,000 (2020 and 2021): −53%
- 1 bedroom: 831,932 (2015) → 405,292 (2020): −51%
- 2 bedrooms: 1,200,000 (2014) → 644,586 (2021): −46%
Liquidity fell with price: 880 studio sales in 2014, 150 in 2020. Covid measures came in April 2020 and Expo was postponed to 2021; the index reached its low in November 2020. Our one-bedroom reference unit fell 51% peak to trough, the second-deepest fall among the twelve districts we compare, after Burj Khalifa's −56%. That is a comparison of annual medians, not of the index.
Price per square foot: why the peak looks even higher
Median price ÷ median unit size in m² ÷ 10.764. Example, 2015 studio: 640,000 / 44.2 m² ≈ 14,480 AED/m² → ≈ 1,345 AED/ft².
| Unit | 2012 | Peak year | Trough year | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | ~743 | ~1,345 (2015) | ~656 (2020) | ~1,029 |
| 1 bed | ~714 | ~973 (2015) | ~454 (2020) | ~829 |
| 2 bed | ~648 | ~846 (2014) | ~460 (2021) | ~815 |
One caution about composition: the median studio sold in 2015 was 44.2 m², larger than in any other year (usually 40–42.5 m²), so part of that year's price reflects which studios sold. Per square foot, the 2015 studio is still the highest point in the series. It is a yardstick built from two medians, not a valuation.
If you had bought in year X
Result = today's median − the year's median − the DLD transfer fee (2% for 2012–2013 purchases, 4% from 2014). Trustee, title deed and agent costs are not included. Each figure opens that card in the game.
| Bought in | Studio | 1 bed | 2 bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | +38% | +15% | +18% |
| 2013 | +24% | +2% | +14% |
| 2014 | −17% | −16% | −14% |
| 2015 | −29% | −19% | −14% |
| 2016 | −10% | −10% | −6% |
| 2017 | −8% | −8% | −4% |
| 2018 | −5% | −4% | +2% |
| 2019 | +29% | +28% | +36% |
| 2020 | +51% | +66% | +58% |
| 2021 | +51% | +60% | +60% |
| 2022 | +48% | +58% | +54% |
| 2023 | +26% | +35% | +36% |
| 2024 | +8% | +11% | +14% |
| 2025 | −3% | −0% | +2% |
16 of the 42 Sports City cards are negative — the highest count of any district in the game. Every card bought in 2014, 2015, 2016 or 2017 is in the red, whatever the unit size; in 2018 the studio and one-bedroom are still negative and the two-bedroom just scrapes +2%. The two red cards of 2025 (studio −12,818 AED, one-bedroom −2,000 AED) are a different story: medians rose slightly over the year (studio 464,248 → 470,000), and the 4% fee paid on entry is what pushes them below zero.
The worst card in the game: a studio bought in 2015
The arithmetic: 640,000 AED paid, 25,600 AED of DLD fee (4%), 470,000 AED today. Price alone lost 170,000 (−27%); with the fee the result is −195,600 AED, −29%, about −$53,300 at the peg. Eleven years later the price has not come back.
Rent softens it but does not rescue it. If the studio had been let continuously, estimated gross rent over the period comes to 359,100 AED, and the total turns to +25%. That is the weakest "let" result of any Sports City card bought before 2024: the 2014 studio shows +54% with rent, the 2020 studio +105%. And the rent figure has its own limits: it is gross (service charges, empty months and management are not deducted), and past rents are rebuilt from today's Ejari rent using the district's rent index, with the earliest thin-data years held at an assumed level. The net route from gross to real income is in rental yield in Dubai.
The best entries: 2020 and 2021
The same district from the other end. A one-bedroom bought at the 2020 median of 405,292 AED is 700,000 today: +278,496 AED after the fee, +66%, and +123% with gross rent. A two-bedroom from 2021 (644,586) shows +60%; the studio from either 2020 or 2021 (300,000), +51%.
What surrounded those years is on the record: Expo 2020 opened on 1 October 2021, and 2021 closed with 84,196 transactions in Dubai, 66% more than in 2020 (DLD). The gap between −29% and +66% inside one district comes down to the entry price. Across all districts, entry years are compared in was buying in Dubai worth it.
So, is Dubai Sports City a good investment?
What the past shows, and nothing more: buyers from 2012–2013 and 2019–2024 are positive on price; buyers from 2014–2017 are negative on price by 4% to 29%; 2018 and 2025 are mixed and close to zero. With gross rent counted, all 42 cards are positive. Measured from 2012, the one-bedroom median is up only 17% (598,128 → 700,000), the second-smallest change of the twelve reference units we compare, after Burj Khalifa (+16%). Measured from the 2020 trough, it is up 73%. Both numbers are true; which one applies depended on the year of purchase. None of this predicts what the next buyer will see.
Buying a resale unit in Sports City: the legal side
Every price in this series is a sale of a ready unit, not off-plan, and a ready flat may come with a tenant already in it. Four points to check.
Entry costs. The 4% DLD fee plus fixed charges from DLD's official schedule. The studio median sits under AED 500,000, the lower trustee band:
| Item, AED | Studio 470,000 | 1 bed 700,000 | 2 bed 1,070,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLD fee 4% | 18,800 | 28,000 | 42,800 |
| Trustee + 5% VAT | 2,100 | 4,200 | 4,200 |
| Title deed, unit plan, knowledge and innovation fees | 520 | 520 | 520 |
| Official fees total | 21,420 | 32,720 | 47,520 |
Agent commission, the developer's NOC and any mortgage costs come on top; as a rough market guide (not an official figure), total buyer costs are often put at 7–8% of the price for cash buyers. See costs of buying and the purchase costs calculator. None of these units reaches the AED 2 million property threshold for the 10-year Golden Visa.
Service charges. The annual building charge is the first deduction from any rent above, and arrears pass awkwardly between seller and buyer. How charges are set and how to check them: service charges.
A tenant in place. Under Dubai Law No. 26 of 2007 (Art. 28), a change of owner does not affect a fixed-term lease: you buy the tenant with the flat. The seller's sale is one of the grounds to end a tenancy at expiry, but only with at least 12 months' notice through a notary or registered mail (Art. 25(2), as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008). If you want to move in yourself, personal use is also a ground — with the same 12 months' notice, and if you then let the flat to someone else within two years, the former tenant can claim compensation (Art. 26).
Rent after purchase. Every lease is registered in Ejari. A party wanting to change terms at renewal must give at least 90 days' notice unless the contract says otherwise, and any increase is capped by Decree No. 43 of 2013 against the RERA rental index. Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Centre: rental disputes at the RDC.
Other questions
How much is a studio in Dubai Sports City?
The median registered sale over the 12 months to 23.09.2026 was 470,000 AED (about $128,000) across 451 DLD transactions.
When were Dubai Sports City prices at their peak?
By annual medians, in 2015 for studios (640,000) and one-bedrooms (831,932), and in 2014 for two-bedrooms (1,200,000).
Why did Dubai Sports City prices fall after 2015?
The IMF (Country Report 15/219) linked Dubai's decline from mid-2014 to heavy new supply, cheaper oil and a strong dollar; the REIDIN index then fell 33% to November 2020. Our data show the effect, not the district-specific causes.
Before you commit
A median shows the range; it cannot show whether a specific unit's title deed is clean, whether service charges are unpaid, or what the existing tenancy says. Our real estate practice reviews the property, the documents and the deal terms before payment; we do not promise an outcome. For all districts side by side, see Dubai areas compared.
Sources: DLD open data and the DLD sales register; Ejari rents via Dubai Data; REIDIN index via the BIS; IMF Country Report 15/219; BIE on Expo 2020; Resolution No. 30 of 2013; UAE Central Bank mortgage regulations; DLD RPPI; Law No. 33 of 2008%20of%202008%20Amending%20Law%20No.%20(26)%20of%202007.html); dirham peg.