Dubai Islands is the bet here, and it is an early-stage one. The plan carries 21 km of beachfront, eight marinas and two golf courses, and the value on offer is entering before that infrastructure is finished rather than after. Island A, where Sands sits, is the furthest along.

Within that, the case for Ellington is density. Fewer, better-laid-out apartments in a lower-rise building means fewer identical units competing with yours when you come to let or sell, which is the quiet variable most off-plan buyers ignore.

The structure protects the downside. 20% on booking, staged to 70% by completion against certified progress in a RERA escrow account, 30% on handover, and no post-handover debt. Ellington also permits a resale once 30% of the price is paid, on a standard NOC, which gives an exit before handover if plans change.

The honest risk is timing. A district being built out delivers in phases, so the first residents live beside construction, and the rental market only forms properly once the hotels, retail and marinas open. Handover is Q4 2028. Underwrite it on what the island looks like then, not on launch pricing today.