Most off-plan conversations in Dubai are about a district's future: the airport is coming, the metro is coming, prices will double. But a buyer's return starts with the price paid today. Two launches that opened for expressions of interest this month show it in numbers: Marquis Aura in Dubai South and Kore by Imtiaz in Dubailand Residence Complex, the district listings shorten to DLRC.
Below, each launch's entry price against what its own district actually sells for, and my Dubai South return model run again at Aura's price. The full price lists, payment plans and amenities are in two separate briefs: Marquis Aura price list and EOI and Kore by Imtiaz price and payment plan.
The short version
- An Aura one bedroom costs about Dh1,334 a square foot. One bedrooms at Marquis Horizon, the same developer's previous building in the same district, sold at about Dh1,650 in August and September. That is about 19% less.
- In October I wrote that Dubai South at Dh1,613 a foot is expensive. At Aura's entry price the same model gives a different answer: the middle scenario goes from 5.1% a year to 7.3%.
- In DLRC, Kore's studio and one bedroom price level with the district's new launches, but its two bedroom, at Dh1,102 a foot, is below even the district's off-plan median.
- The lesson from both is the same. Where a district's future is already in the average price, the return comes from buying below that average, not from the district's story.
- Marquis places Aura next to the metro station but has not named it, and no metro line runs into that part of Dubai South today. Get it in writing.
That is the whole answer. The rest is the working.
Why the entry price matters more than the story
A district's average price already carries the market's expectations for it. When everyone is talking about Al Maktoum International and the metro, those expectations are already sitting in Dubai South's average. A buyer who pays the average needs the future to beat what the market expects to make money. A buyer who pays below it makes money even if the future only matches expectations.
Off-plan is where that price is available from a developer with deliveries behind it, because a developer prices the first release to fill the EOI queue and start sales. This month's two launches are two different examples of the same rule.
Marquis Aura vs Marquis Horizon
Marquis Aura is a 220 apartment building in the Dubai South Residential District, with studios from Dh660,000, one bedrooms from Dh975,000 and two bedrooms from Dh1.372M, completing in June 2029. Marquis Horizon is the developer's previous building in the same district; the developer's stock is sold out and 50 sales are registered with the Dubai Land Department.
Horizon's ten most recent sales, from 26 August to 23 September 2026: one bedrooms at Dh1,528 to Dh1,789 a square foot, about Dh1,650 on average; two bedrooms at Dh1,350 to Dh1,700, about Dh1,490 on average.
| Measure | Marquis Aura | Marquis Horizon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom, per sq ft | Dh1,265 to Dh1,334 | about Dh1,650 |
| 2 bedroom, per sq ft | Dh1,175 to Dh1,404 | about Dh1,490 |
| Studios | yes, from Dh660,000 | none |
| Handover | June 2029 | Q3 2028 |
An Aura one bedroom of similar size costs at least Dh200,000 less than the cheapest Horizon one bedroom sold in the last few weeks. Same developer, same district, about nine months later, about 19% cheaper per foot. Marquis told me Aura was priced better than Horizon; the registered sales confirm it.
The Dubai South math at Aura's price
In Is Dubai South a good investment? I argued that at the Dh1,613 average, in most outcomes a buyer barely beats a 5% bank deposit. I stand by that. But that was the average.
So I ran the same model again with nothing changed except the purchase price. Same 60/40 plan, keys at the end of year three, 4% DLD, Dubai South's average rent of Dh74 a sq ft growing 2% a year, a Dh12 service charge, 5% for vacancy and management, 2% agency on the sale.
| Price per sq ft after 12 years | Buy at the area average (Dh1,613) | Buy at Horizon's resale price (Dh1,650) | Buy an Aura one bedroom (Dh1,334) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creek Harbour today, Dh2,630 | 7.0% | 6.8% | 9.3% |
| Halfway, Dh2,100 | 5.1% | 4.8% | 7.3% |
| Today's Dubai South average, Dh1,613 | 2.9% | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| No growth at all | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.6% |
At the average price, only the best case beat the bank by 2 points or more. At Aura's price the middle case does too, at 7.3%. And if the district never rises above today's average and your unit simply catches up to it, you earn about 5.1% a year, level with the bank. The airport and the metro stop being the condition for making money and become the upside.
Buying at Horizon's resale price, the same developer and district but at the secondary market's price, does slightly worse than the average in every row. The gap between those two columns and Aura's is the whole argument of this article.
The metro: what is confirmed
The fact sheet gives Aura's address as Dubai South Boulevard Street, "next to the metro station". If the station is built where the developer says, the building gets access on top of price.
No metro line runs into the Dubai South Residential District today. The nearest operating station is Expo 2020, about 7 km in a straight line from the plot. The RTA is designing an extension of Route 2020 toward Al Maktoum International and a 55 km Airport Express line, and neither has a station list or an opening date yet. The model above gives the metro no value at all, so if the station is built, the result is better than these figures.
Kore vs the DLRC market
Kore is a wellness tower in DLRC with studios from Dh679,000, one bedrooms from Dh1.1M and two bedrooms from Dh1.55M, handover Q4 2028. I set it against the median of 417 off-plan apartment sales registered in DLRC between 9 July and 7 October 2026, and The Archive, Imtiaz's previous launch in the district.
| Type | Kore | DLRC off-plan median | The Archive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Dh1,672 | Dh1,564 | Dh1,734 |
| 1 bedroom | Dh1,644 | Dh1,329 | Dh1,632 |
| 2 bedroom | Dh1,102 | Dh1,178 | Dh1,498 |
Here the entry price rule shows from the other side. Kore's one bedroom is 24% above the district median, level with The Archive and The WOW Tower. Its buyer is not getting in below the average, so the return depends on the building's amenities lifting the rent above the median. The two bedroom is a different story: at 1,406 sq ft it is about 150 sq ft larger than the district's median two bedroom let, yet it prices 6% below the off-plan median. In Kore, the Aura rule applies to the two bedroom.
DLRC rents and Kore's yield
From 1,243 DLRC tenancy contracts registered in Ejari with start dates between 9 July and 7 October 2026:
| Type | Median rent a year | Gross yield | Rent in DLRC's best buildings | Gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Dh37,000 | 5.4% | Dh41,000 to Dh49,000 | 6.0% to 7.2% |
| 1 bedroom | Dh53,000 | 4.8% | Dh57,875 to Dh60,000 | 5.3% to 5.5% |
| 2 bedroom | Dh70,000 | 4.5% | Dh77,500 to Dh84,500 | 5.0% to 5.5% |
At the median rent Kore's yields are modest; they become attractive only if a unit lets like the district's best buildings. That is the cost of a higher entry price: if you do not buy below the average, you need to rent above it.
My take
Off-plan is the right investment when the entry price is below what the district is worth today, not when the district's story is exciting. In Dubai South, the Marquis Aura one bedroom meets that test, about 17% below the area average and 19% below what the same developer's last building is selling for. In DLRC, Kore's two bedroom meets it; its studio and one bedroom are a bet on above median rents.
For the prices, payment plans, amenities and the questions to ask before an EOI, read the Marquis Aura and Kore briefs. If you want the live price list or the EOI form for either, message me.
Sources: Marquis Aura prices from the developer's official fact sheet; Kore prices from Imtiaz's official fact sheet (October 2026); Marquis Horizon sales from DLD data via Propsearch; DLRC prices and rents from DLD and Ejari data via DXB Interact (90 days to 7 October 2026); Dubai South average from Bayut TruView; metro plans from The National; the return model is my own.
Frequently asked questions
A district's average price already carries the market's expectations, such as a new airport or metro. A buyer at the average needs the future to beat those expectations to make money; a buyer below the average makes money even if the future only matches them. In Dubai South, buying at Dh1,334 a foot instead of the Dh1,613 average lifts my 12 year middle case from 5.1% to 7.3% a year.
An Aura one bedroom costs about Dh1,334 a square foot on its smallest size. Marquis Horizon one bedrooms sold for about Dh1,650 on average in the ten latest DLD registrations, 26 August to 23 September 2026, so Aura is about 19% lower. On two bedrooms the gap is about 6% (Dh1,404 against about Dh1,490). Horizon starts at Dh1.1M, has no studios, about 175 apartments and a Q3 2028 handover; Aura completes in June 2029.
At the Dh1,613 Dubai South off-plan average, my model gives about 5.1% a year over 12 years if prices get halfway to Creek Harbour (Dh2,100), barely above a 5% bank deposit. With the same assumptions at an Aura one bedroom's Dh1,334, that case returns 7.3%, the Creek Harbour case 9.3%, and simply reaching today's area average about 5.1%, level with the bank. The lower entry price is what changes the answer.
A 60/40 payment plan, keys at the end of year three, a 4% DLD fee at purchase, Dubai South's average rent of Dh74 a sq ft rising 2% a year, a Dh12 service charge, 5% for vacancy and management, and 2% agency on the sale, all over 12 years. Only the purchase price changes between columns, and the metro is given no value.
The developer's fact sheet says it is next to the metro station but does not name it. No metro line runs into the Dubai South Residential District today; the nearest operating station is Expo 2020, about 7 km away in a straight line. The RTA is designing a Route 2020 extension toward Al Maktoum International (tender January 2026) and a 55 km Airport Express line (design bids August 2026), and neither has a published station list or opening date. Ask Marquis for the station, the line and the RTA document in writing.
Kore's starting prices work out at about Dh1,672 a square foot for a studio, Dh1,644 for a one bedroom and Dh1,102 for a two bedroom. The median of 417 DLRC off-plan apartment sales from 9 July to 7 October 2026 was Dh1,564, Dh1,329 and Dh1,178, and The Archive by Imtiaz entered at Dh1,734, Dh1,632 and Dh1,498. So the studio and one bedroom price level with new launches, and the two bedroom is below the district median.
From 1,243 DLRC leases starting 9 July to 7 October 2026, median rents are Dh37,000 for a studio, Dh53,000 for a one bedroom and Dh70,000 for a two bedroom. On Kore's starting prices that is 5.4%, 4.8% and 4.5% gross; at the rents of DLRC's best buildings, up to 7.2%, 5.5% and 5.5%. With an estimated Dh14 a sq ft service charge, a studio nets about 4.6% at the median and 6.4% at the top of the range.
The Marquis Aura one bedroom, about 17% below the Dubai South off-plan average and 19% below Marquis Horizon's recent sales, and the Kore two bedroom, about 6% below the DLRC off-plan median despite being about 150 sq ft larger than the median two bedroom let. Kore's studio and one bedroom price level with new launches, so they depend on above median rents.