Dubai Harbour: How the waterfront property became the hottest ticket in town

Dubai: Looking for a deluxe home in Dubai close enough to the waterfront — but in a newer part of the city? And one where you have the option to move into a new within a few months?

If that’s the plan, drive down to Dubai Harbour and chances are you can tick off all of what you wanted from investing in a home in Dubai.

Because buyers will be getting not just ample selection of homes, but closeness to a swanky cruise terminal, a marina with lots of space for more yachts (if the property buyer has got one), and all the settings one would expect from a premium mixed-use destination in Dubai. 

There is also ‘The Anchor’, with all possible choices when it comes to cuisine and as spaces to be in. (The vibe skews towards ‘uber-cool’, is how patrons have described it…)

“With 30%–40% of the overall Dubai Harbour district’s masterplan complete, it marks significant progress,” according to a source. “Key infrastructure - including the state-of-the-art cruise terminal - is fully operational.

“Dubai Harbour is set to become an iconic seafront district of Dubai that seamlessly connects city living with the sea…”

According to the master-developer, Shamal Holding, Dubai Harbour’s location is at the ‘intersection’ of the Palm Jumeirah and the trendy Bluewaters cluster. That’s as prime as it gets when it comes to a location in Dubai, and where a home buyers doesn’t have to have the super-premium rates associated with Jumeira Bay island or Palm Jebel Ali. 

When it comes to apartment choices at Dubai Harbour, there are quite a few apartment buildings on the way to completion. Projects like Sobha Seahaven, Damac Bay by Cavalli, and Damac Bay 2 by Cavalli are ‘under construction and scheduled to welcome residents by 2026’, said the source.

The wider area has already seen a rise in occupancy levels, with the Emaar Beachfront development delivering towers such as Sunrise Bay and Marina Vista and people moving in from 2023 onwards.

Shamal Holding has its own residential project there, in partnership with H&H. The 'Dubai Harbour Residences' have been designed as low-rise homes with their own private beachfront.

According to GCP Properties’ data, apartment values in Dubai Harbour have seen an eye-watering 105% increase for offplan units between January 2021 and June 2025. Ready apartment values are higher by about 50% between what it cost in early 2021 and what it is right now.

Monthly data show that since the start of 2025, there’s been a steady rise in sales of Dubai Harbour apartments, with March being the busiest month with nearly 300 units sold. A similar trend was obvious in the first-half of 2023, when the location saw its first towers completed and the handovers starting, according to GCP Properties.

Listings of two-bedroom apartments on Bayut show an unit available for just over Dh4 million at the Beach isle, part of Emaar Beachfront. There’s another at W Residences, a 3-tower project by Arada, for Dh5.84 million.

The average pricing trends in Dubai Harbour were around the Dh3,620 per square foot, with one-bed apartments typically between Dh1.9 million to Dh3 million, and two-beds up to Dh4 million to Dh5.5 million. The penthouses and branded residences exceed Dh7 million.

“Foreign investors from Europe, Asia and GCC in Dubai Harbour are drawn by the lifestyle - yachting, beaches and golfing access nearby,” said Aakarshan Kathuria, CEO of RiseUp consultancy. 

“Latest data show brisk absorption, projects like W Residences had 400+ units launched in Q4-2024 and Sobha sold out its first SeaHaven tower before launching Tower B.”

A 1,500-metre long King Salman Bridge connecting the city to Dubai Harbour is due for completion in 2026. The plan is to ‘enhance’ Dubai Harbour’s connectivity to Sheikh Zayed Road in just 3 minutes, and ‘placing it only a few minutes from all the major areas in the city’.

‘The Anchor’ represents the lifestyle and entertainment option at Dubai Harbour. All of 110,000 square feet, the master-developer is positioning it to ‘serve as a vibrant retail, dining, and entertainment hub’, Further enhancements to the Pier Club are on track for completion in Q3-2025, which will double the current offering and further elevate the ‘leisure experience within the district’.

“Dubai Harbour is not yet another development – it is a visionary district inspired by Dubai’s seafaring legacy,” said a Shamal Holding spokesperson. “It’s on track to become an extraordinarily crafted district for a globally connected, maritime-driven lifestyle.”

For many property investors in Dubai, that’s just what they are on the lookout for.