Majid Al Futtaim has a new residential building coming at Ghaf Woods, and the first details have reached brokers. Pricing is not out yet. That is exactly the window where people get talked into a deposit on numbers nobody has published, so here is what is actually confirmed, what it implies, and what to ask when the price does land.
The short version
If you only want the answer, this is it:
- 349 apartments in a 20-storey building: 209 one-bedrooms and 140 two-bedrooms.
- One-beds run about 575 to 620 sq ft, two-beds about 950 to 1,050 sq ft.
- It sits directly opposite Global Village, walking distance from the Ghaf Woods retail centre.
- Price and payment plan are not published. Any figure you are quoted this week is somebody's estimate, not the developer's price.
- Until launch there are only two useful things to do: know the price anchor, and have your questions ready. Both are below.
If you want the detail
Everything below is the working: the confirmed numbers, what they imply, and the questions that decide whether this is worth your money. If the short version answered you, stop there.
What has actually been confirmed
| Item | Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Total apartments | 349 |
| One-bedroom | 209 units |
| Two-bedroom | 140 units |
| Floors | 20 |
| One-bed size | about 575 to 620 sq ft |
| Two-bed size | about 950 to 1,050 sq ft |
| Location | opposite Global Village, walkable to the Ghaf Woods retail centre |
| Price and payment plan | not yet announced |
That list is short, and it should be. Any site publishing an exact price and a guaranteed yield for this building today has invented both.
349 units over 20 floors is the number that tells you most
Put those two figures together. 349 divided by 20 is roughly 17 apartments per floor.
That is a dense floorplate, and it cuts two ways. Corridors, lobbies and cores get shared across more apartments, which usually helps the service charge per square foot and keeps it below what a low-density tower charges. But 17 doors to a landing is also a real lift-waiting problem at 8am, so ask how many lifts serve the building before you sign anything.
The building is being presented as limited inventory. In a masterplan of more than 7,000 homes, 349 units is not scarce, and I would not let scarcity be the reason you rush.
The unit mix, and what it means if you are buying to rent
209 one-beds against 140 two-beds means about 60 percent of the building is one-bedroom.
That mix is the signature of a building designed for investors rather than families. If you are buying to let, it has a good side and a bad side. One-beds let faster in Dubai and carry the better gross yield. But when 209 near-identical apartments hand over in the same building in the same quarter, your main competitor in the first few months is your own neighbour, and that pushes achievable rent down.
So I tell clients to underwrite year one conservatively here. Model the rent you will get in a crowded handover window, not the rent the brochure implies.
The community it sits in
Ghaf Woods is Majid Al Futtaim's forest-living masterplan, launched in June 2024 by the developer behind Tilal Al Ghaf. It covers about 738,000 sq m off Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road next to Global Village, with more than 7,000 homes planned.
The developer's stated claims are specific enough to be worth repeating: outdoor temperatures up to 5C cooler than neighbouring communities, more than 20 native bird species, and more trees than residents. Amenities announced include a wellness centre and spa, a mountain bike loop, forest edge pools, farming plots and retail.
The existing neighbourhoods are Serra, Cilia, Capria, Distrikt, Lacina and Maravelle Residences, and they hand over at different times: Serra in Q3 2027, Cilia in Q4 2027, Capria in Q1 2029 and Distrikt in Q3 2029.
Sizes against the Dubai market
575 to 620 sq ft for a one-bed is compact by Dubai standards but not unusual, and it is consistent with what is being launched around it. The 950 to 1,050 sq ft two-bed sits in the same logic.
The question to ask is gross area against internal area. Balconies are counted in the headline size on plenty of projects, so two apartments quoted at the same square footage can give you noticeably different living space. Ask for the floor plan and get the internal area separately.
No price yet, so here is the anchor
Until the developer publishes, rental yield cannot be calculated. Anyone handing you a yield figure for this building is guessing.
What you can do is anchor. Across the existing Ghaf Woods neighbourhoods, one-beds have started around Dh1.2 million and two-beds around Dh2 million, on a 60/40 structure: 10 percent down, 50 percent through construction, 40 percent on handover.
Those are not this building's prices. They are the yardstick you hold up on launch day. If the price per square foot comes in materially above the existing phases, ask what you are paying for. A higher floor, a better aspect or an earlier handover are all real answers. Being new is not. The payment plan comparison will show you what a different structure actually costs.
Living opposite Global Village
Nobody mentions this at the sales desk and it affects daily life.
Global Village runs from roughly October to April. During those months, and especially on weekend evenings, traffic on the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed corridor and the junctions around it gets heavy. Through the summer, when it is closed, that pressure disappears.
If you are going to live there, drive your commute once on a Thursday or Friday evening in season before you commit. If you are buying to let, the same proximity is a selling point to tenants and tends to help the unit move.
What to ask before you book
In this order:
- Price per square foot, not just the headline unit price, so you can compare against the existing phases.
- Estimated service charge per square foot. In a community carrying this much amenity, that number moves your net yield.
- The contractual handover date, not the marketing one.
- Floor level and aspect, because with 17 units to a floor the spread between apartments is wide.
- Internal area separately from balcony.
- How many lifts serve the building.
- The project escrow account number with the DLD, and confirmation that payments go directly to it.
My take
Two things make this worth a look. The developer has a delivery record you can check, and the masterplan was designed around a single idea rather than assembled as towers on a plot.
But no decision is available until the price is out. Register so you have access on launch day, and pay nothing before you have seen the official price list and the floor plan. If off-plan Dubai is new to you, what changes during construction covers the stage-payment side of this.
Frequently asked questions
349 apartments over 20 floors: 209 one-bedrooms and 140 two-bedrooms. That is roughly 17 apartments per floor.
One-bedrooms are about 575 to 620 sq ft and two-bedrooms about 950 to 1,050 sq ft. Ask for internal area separately, because balconies are often counted in the headline size.
The price has not been published. As an anchor, one-beds across the existing Ghaf Woods neighbourhoods have started around Dh1.2 million and two-beds around Dh2 million.
Not announced for this building. The plan used across Ghaf Woods has been 10 percent down, 50 percent during construction and 40 percent on handover.
Directly opposite Global Village, within walking distance of the Ghaf Woods retail centre, off Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road in Dubailand.
Not announced for this building. The other Ghaf Woods phases hand over at different dates: Serra Q3 2027, Cilia Q4 2027, Capria Q1 2029 and Distrikt Q3 2029.
Majid Al Futtaim, the group behind Tilal Al Ghaf. Ghaf Woods was launched in June 2024 and covers about 738,000 sq m with more than 7,000 homes planned.
Not in context. Ghaf Woods is a masterplan of more than 7,000 homes, so 349 units is not scarce and scarcity is not a good reason to rush a booking.
209 near-identical one-beds handing over together means your main competition in the first months is your own neighbour. Underwrite year one rent conservatively.
Not published yet. Ask for the estimate per square foot before booking, because a community carrying this much amenity tends to carry a higher charge, and that is what moves your net yield.
Yes, seasonally. Global Village runs from about October to April, and on weekend evenings in that window traffic on the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed corridor gets heavy. In summer it closes and the pressure goes.
Price per square foot, estimated service charge per square foot, the contractual handover date, floor level and aspect, internal area separately from balcony, how many lifts serve the building, and the project escrow account number with the DLD.