This is a distress deal for a seven-bedroom plus maid’s villa in Maldives 3, DAMAC Islands. The property is offered at AED 18,685,000, which reflects a discount of approximately AED 1,924,680 (about 9.3%) from the original price of AED 20,609,680. The villa sits on a substantial plot of 14,901 sq.ft, with a built-up area (BUA) of 17,078 sq.ft, resulting in an entry price of around AED 1,094 per sq.ft. This is a semi-furnished, waterfront villa with a basement, ground and two upper floors, and is scheduled for completion in Q4 2028. The immediate investment thesis is the ability to secure a large, waterfront villa in a new master-planned island community at a visible discount to the developer’s reference price, with a staged payment plan extending to handover. The scale, layout and waterfront positioning make this a distinctive asset for buyers seeking long-term value in Dubai’s evolving branded villa segment.
MALDIVES · DAMAC IslandsDAMAC · DAMAC Islands
DISTRESS DEAL: 7-BR + Maid's IN MALDIVES
- Unit
- 7-BR + Maid's
- Size
- 17,078 sq.ft
- Developer
- DAMAC
- Handover
- Q4 2028
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 31 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 6,992,970
- DLD Transfer fee 4% + 40 AEDAED 747,440
- DLD Registration Trustee fee + 5% VATAED 5,250
- Buyer's agent commission 2% + 5% VATAED 392,385
- Total on transferAED 8,138,045
27 scheduled payments · AED 11,692,030
- 09-MAY-2026AED 198,170
- 09-JUN-2026AED 198,170
- 09-JUL-2026AED 198,170
- 09-AUG-2026AED 198,170
- 09-SEP-2026AED 990,850
- 09-OCT-2026AED 198,170
- 09-NOV-2026AED 198,170
- 09-DEC-2026AED 198,170
- 09-JAN-2027AED 198,170
- 09-FEB-2027AED 198,170
- 09-MAR-2027AED 990,850
- 09-APR-2027AED 198,170
- 09-MAY-2027AED 198,170
- 09-JUN-2027AED 198,170
- 09-JUL-2027AED 198,170
- 09-AUG-2027AED 198,170
- 09-SEP-2027AED 198,170
- 09-OCT-2027AED 198,170
- 09-NOV-2027AED 198,170
- 09-DEC-2027AED 198,170
- 09-JAN-2028AED 198,170
- 09-FEB-2028AED 198,170
- 09-MAR-2028AED 198,170
- 09-APR-2028AED 198,170
- 09-MAY-2028AED 198,170
- 09-JUN-2028AED 198,170
- On HandoverAED 4,954,250
- Total remaining payment planAED 11,692,030
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Floor plan
Distress Deal
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
OVERVIEW
LOCATION & TRANSPORT
Maldives 3 is part of DAMAC Islands, a new master community by DAMAC Properties situated in the Al Yelayiss 1 area of Dubai. The islands are positioned to offer a private, waterfront lifestyle while still being within reach of Dubai’s established urban zones. Access is expected to be via the main road networks connecting to Sheikh Zayed Road and the wider city, with journey times to Dubai Marina, JBR and Downtown Dubai likely to be competitive once the community infrastructure is complete. The area is still under development, so current access is limited, but the masterplan aims to deliver a self-contained environment with internal roads, security and managed entry points. For investors, the location offers a blend of seclusion and future connectivity, with the potential for strong appeal to end-users and tenants seeking privacy without full isolation from Dubai’s core districts.
AMENITIES & SURROUNDING
Residents of Maldives 3 will have access to a suite of amenities shared across the DAMAC Islands community. Planned facilities include an aqua park, lagoon and infinity pools, a lazy river, outdoor fitness areas, calisthenics equipment, miniature golf, paddle boarding, and relaxation zones. The development is designed to support a resort-style environment, with landscaped public spaces and waterfront promenades. The villa itself is expected to feature private parking, balconies with water views, and access to the island’s security and management services. Surrounding infrastructure is still in progress, but the intention is to create a self-sufficient community with retail, dining, and recreation options integrated into the masterplan. This supports both owner-occupier and rental demand, particularly for families and groups seeking a high-amenity, waterfront lifestyle within Dubai.
MARKET
The villa’s AED 1,094 per sq.ft entry basis is competitive for a waterfront, branded villa in a new Dubai master community. Recent land transactions in the Maldives at DAMAC Islands have ranged from AED 1,355 to AED 1,806 per sq.ft for smaller plots, suggesting that the current deal offers a lower per-square-foot basis for a finished, large-format villa. The seven-bedroom layout is targeted at high-net-worth buyers, family offices, or investors seeking to capitalise on Dubai’s ongoing demand for branded, waterfront homes. Liquidity in this segment is typically more limited than for smaller villas or apartments, but the combination of scale, waterfront positioning and community amenities should support both resale and rental demand once the project is complete. Key risk points include construction and handover timing, the pace of wider community delivery, and the need to underwrite service charges and operational costs in a large, amenity-led environment. The payment plan structure, with a significant balance due at handover, may also influence buyer profiles and liquidity.
CONCLUSION
This distress deal offers a meaningful discount to the developer’s original price for a substantial, waterfront villa in a new island community by DAMAC. The scale, layout and amenity profile position the asset for buyers seeking long-term value and lifestyle depth, rather than short-term speculation. The main considerations are the construction timeline, the evolving nature of the DAMAC Islands masterplan, and the operational realities of managing a large villa in a high-amenity setting. For investors comfortable with these factors, the deal provides an opportunity to secure a prime, future-ready asset at a below-market entry point, with the flexibility of a staged payment plan and the potential for both end-user and rental demand on completion. The case is strongest for those seeking exposure to Dubai’s branded villa market with a clear discount and a long-term horizon.
Location
MALDIVES — DAMAC Islands, Dubai
Illustrative model
Scenario modeller
Set your own assumptions and see how DISTRESS DEAL: 7-BR + Maid's IN MALDIVES 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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