Real estate in Dubai at Estonian prices

Autor: Igor King

Tallinnas eduka karjääri üles ehitanud maakler Igor King on suunanud oma pilgu Dubaisse, kus ta müüb nii kortereid kui ka villasid. Ta selgitab põhjalikult, millised on Dubai kinnisvaraturule investeerimise eelised ja riskid.

Igor, te olete üles ehitanud eduka karjääri Tallinnas. Miks otsustasite arendada Dubai suunda?

Ma ei ole Tallinnat maha jätnud – mu kolleegid tegelevad edasi üüride ja müükidega, mina osalen tehingutes distantsilt.
Aga Dubai on globaalne kasvav turg, kus kõik on läbimõeldud sellisel tasemel, mida Euroopas peaaegu ei kohta.
Mulle meeldis alati Hispaania ja me saame siiani pakkuda uusarendusi Benidormis ja Marbellas, kuid täna on minu kogemuse järgi Dubai palju perspektiivikam punkt investeeringuteks.

Räägitakse, et Dubai kinnisvaraturg on väga konkurentsitihe. Kuidas teil õnnestus seal kanda kinnitada?

Konkurents on tõesti kõrge. Dubaisse ei tule juhuslikud inimesed, vaid enamasti tugevad agendid, kes on juba koduturul häid tulemusi saavutanud.
Algajatel on väga raske. Paljud panustavad aega ja raha ning lahkuvad tühjade kätega. Isegi kogenud agendid puutuvad kokku sellega, et siin on oma rahvusvahelise suurlinna spetsiifika.

Kuidas mul õnnestus? Ma tegin alati seda, mida teevad üksikud: lõin sisu, panin rõhu numbritele ja nende analüüsile, pöörasin tähelepanu detailidele.
Näiteks: Eestis on registreeritud umbes 1300 maaklerit ja ainult 1–2% neist on oma YouTube’i kanal.

Siin Dubais müüvad paljud agendid ilusaid pilte, saates neid Whatsappi kaudu kliendile, aga tõsistele investoritele jääb sellest väheks.

Miks peaksid investorid vaatama Dubai suunas, kui nad on harjunud Hispaania, eriti Marbellaga?

Ma olen rääkinud väga paljude inimestega Baltikumis ja jõudnud veendumusele:
Hispaaniat teab igaüks, AÜE-st ei tea peaaegu keegi, isegi kui nad on seal turistina käinud.

Aga kui vaadata globaalselt, siis Dubaisse ostavad hoopis teised turud:
Suurbritannia, Saksamaa, Itaalia – on esirinnas, ja hiinlased ostsid 2023. aastal korruste ja isegi tervete hoonete kaupa.

Baltikum jõuab paratamatult samasse.
Põhjused on lihtsad:

• hinnad on madalamad kui Euroopa analoogidel

• taristu „täidetus“ on oluliselt kõrgem

• turvalisus on maksimaalsel tasemel

• maksud on minimaalsed või puuduvad

• tootlus üürist ja edasimüügist on märgatavalt kõrgem

Eesti kodanike seas armastatud Hispaania külakesed ei suuda lihtsalt Dubaisse konkurentsi pakkuda kuritegevuse taseme, arengutempo ja võimaluste poolest.

Millised peamised eelised tooksite välja Dubai kinnisvara ostjale?

Odav elu.

Those who have only seen the tourist side of Dubai are often surprised, but living in green areas is no more expensive than in Estonia.
Food delivery, groceries, and fuel are more affordable than many people think.

Residence visa.

Purchasing real estate from 182 000 € entitles you to a two-year residence permit.
From 500 000 € – a 10-year golden visa for the whole family and household staff.

A visa means being able to open a bank account, buy a car, enroll children in kindergartens and schools, take out local insurance, and so on.

Payment in cryptocurrency and cash.

For many investors, this is an important opportunity—with no additional costs or taxes.

Cash is brought from Estonia to Dubai and used to purchase an apartment.

It is even easier with cryptocurrency: we exchange it for local cash and take it to the developer.

No personal income tax.

Income from rental or resale – 0% tax.

Developer financing.

A 24% payment is enough to move in.
Sometimes the apartment is handed over after 60% of the instalments have been paid, and the tenant covers the remaining amount.

Finishing.

• rental: 7–15%

• resale: 20–70%

• premium projects: up to 100%

Transparency of transactions.

In Dubai, only a 4% government fee is payable.
For comparison: in Marbella, the purchase tax alone is 10%, in addition to taxes on rental income, sales and inheritance. And that is the best-case scenario. In the worst-case scenario, you will spend 2 years evicting squatters from the apartment.

Okupas are people in Spain who illegally move into someone else's apartment or house and live there without the owner's consent, and are very difficult to evict.

What are the actual prices?

Here is an example: I was looking for a one-room apartment in a new development in Tallinn for about 140 000 euros.
There was nothing decent.

In Dubai, in 2022, you could buy an apartment in a new development with a parking space, interior finishing, a gym and a swimming pool for 100 000 euros. Now, in 2025, the starting price of a similar studio apartment is approximately 160 000–170 000 euros.

How much can you earn by reselling a property during construction?

20–70% per year on invested funds.
Sometimes up to 100% in the premium or luxury segment.

Investors who buy several apartments at once (three or more) receive additional discounts and early access to the best layouts—the very ones that later rise sharply in price.

Do you need to fly to Dubai to buy real estate?

No.
All transactions with the developer can be completed entirely remotely:
signing the contract, payment, registration – everything is digital.

If the client wishes to visit in person, we arrange a transfer and a visit to the developer's office.

What do you think—is it comfortable to live in Dubai?

Language.

All processes are conducted in English.
Russian is an advantage in many areas.

There is no need to learn the local language, as is the case in Spain, for example.

Safety.

Dubai consistently ranks among the 10 safest cities in the world.
You can leave your phone on a table, and it will still be there. Tried and tested repeatedly. The entire city is covered by facial-recognition cameras connected to artificial intelligence, so fraudsters cannot disappear—the AI has their passport details, photos and often their home address as well.

Education.

International schools, five languages, the right environment.

Medicine.

Licensing, high standards and rigorous selection of specialists.

What disadvantages would you highlight?

Two main ones:

• summer heat

• sandstorms

There used to be little greenery, but now every district is being actively landscaped.
There are projects where at least 35% of the area must be green.

What misconceptions have you encountered most often?

That women are not allowed to walk alone. (They are.)

That Dubai is just concrete. (No, there are many green, low-rise areas.)

That life here is more expensive than in Europe. (It is not more expensive.)

That a foreigner cannot buy property with full ownership. (They can.)

That the economy is based on oil. (No more than 5%.)

What do you offer your clients?

A full range of services:

• visa / residence permit for 2 or 10 years

• option to buy with cryptocurrency

• interest-free instalment plan

• affordable apartments to live in

• townhouses and villas priced from 500 000 € to 25 000 000 €

• investments with annual returns of 7–15%

• plots of land

• resale with returns of 20–100% on invested funds

Igor King regularly publishes analytical materials and case studies on the Dubai real estate market on his Telegram channel.

They also offer a free 30-minute consultation online or offline: https://wa.me/971585961359

Igor King

real estate agent in Dubai

licence number: 81773