This 2-bedroom in Design Quarter - Tower A is being offered as a Distress Deal at AED 2,900,000. Against the AED 3,213,600 original price plus DLD basis, the current ask shows a 9.8% below original price discount and a headline saving of AED 313,600. The unit is by Meraas, recorded at 1,184 sq.ft, and scheduled for handover in Q2 2027. That gives the buyer a clear number to underwrite today rather than a vague promise of future upside: the real question is whether this discounted basis is strong enough for the project, location and remaining construction timeline.
DESIGN QUARTER · Dubai Design DistrictMeraas · Dubai Design District
DISTRESS DEAL: 2-BR IN DESIGN QUARTER
- Unit
- 2-BR
- Size
- 1,184 sq.ft
- Developer
- Meraas
- Handover
- Q2 2027
The discount is measured against the original price + DLD recorded for this unit, not against a valuation.
This unit has sold. The page is kept as a record of a deal we transacted. Every figure on it — the asking price, the discount to original price and the payment schedule — is the position as listed on 12 March 2026 and is historic. It is not an indication of what the same unit, or a comparable one, would cost today.
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The numbers
Payment breakdown
- Payment to sellerAED 1,664,000
- DLD Transfer fee 4% + 40 AEDAED 116,040
- DLD Registration Trustee fee + 5% VATAED 5,250
- Buyer's agent commission 2% + 5% VATAED 60,900
- Total on transferAED 1,846,190
- 15.05.2027AED 1,236,000
- Total remaining payment planAED 1,236,000
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Floor plan
Distress Deal
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
OVERVIEW
LOCATION & TRANSPORT
Design Quarter Tower A is located inside Dubai Design District, which places it within close proximity of several of the city’s established commercial and residential centres. The development lies approximately 2.4 kilometres from Downtown Dubai which contains landmarks including Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and Dubai Opera. Business Bay is located roughly 2.8 kilometres from the site and serves as one of Dubai’s primary office districts. For a buyer, that matters because accessibility and neighbourhood depth will influence both resale liquidity and the quality of the end-user audience once the project completes.
AMENITIES & SURROUNDING
The surrounding area contains a variety of leisure, lifestyle and cultural facilities associated with both Dubai Design District and nearby central neighbourhoods. Within approximately two kilometres are several attractions including KidZania, PVRK indoor entertainment venue and Dubai Ice Rink located at Dubai Mall. Parks and open spaces nearby include Bayside Park 7 and The Block urban park located about 0.5 kilometres from the development, along with Riviera West Park at approximately 1.5 kilometres. In practical terms, that surrounding amenity base is what turns a discounted off-plan listing from a spreadsheet idea into a liveable asset with clearer rental and resale support.
MARKET
Dubai Design District, commonly abbreviated as d3, is situated to the south east of Downtown Dubai and sits between Ras Al Khor Road and Al Khail Road. The district was conceived as a purpose built centre for the creative industries and hosts showrooms, offices, co working environments, event venues and hospitality developments. Over time residential buildings have been introduced in order to support a live work environment and extend the functioning of the district beyond working hours. At AED 2,449, the benchmark is not only other apartments in the same tower but also the limited pool of residential stock inside Dubai Design District and the nearby Downtown catchment. The district draws a mix of end users, executives and creative-industry tenants who value proximity to d3, Business Bay and Downtown more than outer-suburb space. A 9.8% below original price basis at AED 2,900,000 therefore carries real weight, because it gives the buyer a cleaner entry into a location where fresh residential supply is still relatively contained.
CONCLUSION
Overall, this Design Quarter - Tower A listing suits a buyer who values centrality and district character as much as the raw numbers. At AED 2,900,000 for 1,184 sq.ft, with 9.8% below original price already reflected and Q2 2027 still ahead, it offers a more disciplined way into d3 than paying full launch-style pricing for the same urban proposition.
Location
DESIGN QUARTER — Dubai Design District
Illustrative model
Scenario modeller
Set your own assumptions and see how DISTRESS DEAL: 2-BR IN DESIGN QUARTER behaves as a cash purchase, the same purchase mortgaged, or a capital-only resale.
Enter the asking price to run the model.
Every figure recalculates as you type. Use the price you are considering.
Method
- Handover
- The date the unit is handed over, set in quarters from purchase. Gross rent, the vacancy allowance, maintenance and management, and the service charge all start there and not before — an unbuilt unit cannot be let and is not billed. The year handover falls in gets the exact fraction it is entitled to, not a rounded whole year. Capital growth is not treated this way: it compounds from today across the whole hold, because an off-plan unit can be sold before it completes. Where the holding period ends before handover, there is no operating income anywhere in the schedule and the whole return is capital movement less costs.
- Gross yield
- Gross annual rent ÷ purchase price. Before every cost. Where handover is in the future this is a stabilised full year from handover — a rate on the price, not a figure reduced by the construction period. The schedule shows what each year actually books.
- Net yield
- (Rent collected after the vacancy allowance − maintenance and management − service charge) ÷ purchase price. Stabilised on the same basis as the gross yield.
- Rent growth
- Compound annual movement in gross rent, applied from handover and stepping at each anniversary of it, which is when a tenancy renews. It may be negative. It does not touch the service charge, which is held flat in nominal terms.
- ROI
- Total profit over the whole hold ÷ total cash invested (price + all acquisition costs). Unlevered. Not an annual rate.
- ROE
- Total profit over the whole hold ÷ equity contributed (deposit + all acquisition and finance costs), after debt service. Levered. Not an annual rate.
- Cash-on-cash return
- Year-one operating cash flow, after debt service where there is a mortgage, ÷ cash invested. Reported separately from ROI/ROE and never merged with it. Year one means the first year of the schedule as it stands: where that year falls before handover it carries no rent, so on a mortgaged off-plan purchase the figure is negative — that is the year you fund out of pocket, and it is shown rather than smoothed away.
- IRR
- The annualised rate that discounts the dated cash-flow schedule above to a net present value of zero, solved numerically. Where the schedule has no sign change, or the solver does not converge on a single meaningful rate, we print “—” rather than substitute a simpler annualised-return figure.
An illustrative model, not a forecast, a valuation, an offer or investment advice. Every figure is generated from the assumptions on this page — some yours, the rest stated defaults, not promises. Rents, service charges, fees, vacancy, handover dates, financing terms and sale prices vary by unit and over time; past prices are not a guide to future prices. Returns are not guaranteed and capital is at risk.
Mortgage availability, loan-to-value, rate and term are subject to lender criteria and underwriting; nothing here indicates that finance will be offered. Figures exclude any tax payable in your country of residence — take independent financial, tax and legal advice before committing. Mitchell's Commercial Real Estate is a trading brand; the RERA-licensed broker is Stephen James Mitchell, BRN 68593.
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