Area guide · Dubai

Palm Jumeirah

Nakheel's palm-shaped island of beachfront villas, apartments and resort hotels, linked by monorail and tram, and one of Dubai's most resilient areas by sales this year.

What it is

Palm Jumeirah is Nakheel's palm-shaped island off the Jumeirah coast, made up of the trunk, the fronds and the crescent. Apartments line the trunk, villas with private beaches sit on the fronds, and resort hotels occupy the crescent. Nakheel Mall, The View at The Palm and Al Ittihad Park sit at its centre. The Palm Monorail runs along the island, and a tunnel links the trunk to the crescent. It is one of the areas Dubai's freehold regulation names for ownership by non-nationals.

Who buys here

High-net-worth end users buying frond villas, investors in trunk apartments for rental and short-stay demand, and overseas buyers who want a globally recognised address. Many second-home owners use the island part of the year. Villa and apartment buyers here rarely compete for the same homes.

Things to consider

• Older buildings and newer launches differ widely in specification and service charges. Check the RERA-approved rate for each building.
• Short-stay letting needs a holiday home permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism.
• Frond villas and trunk apartments are separate markets with different buyers.

My view, October 2026

Palm Jumeirah has held up better than Dubai as a whole in both the first half and the third quarter. Most deals are ready homes rather than off-plan. In a cooling market, that resilience is the main thing the data shows.