Cash or mortgage: how to buy in the UAE

Non-residents can mortgage in the UAE. Residents can, more easily. The question is whether they should.

Cash still wins on speed and on off-plan, where many developers want staged payments rather than a bank’s timeline. It also wins when the unit is odd — a renovated Saadiyat two-bed, a fitted office — and the underwriter will take a month to understand it.

Mortgage wins when the rate is kind and the capital has a better job elsewhere. UAE rates have eased from the 2023 peak; a well-qualified resident can still borrow a substantial share of a ready home. Off-plan is harder: some banks will only enter at handover, which means you fund the construction stage yourself.

We sit with the numbers, not the slogan. A 20 percent down payment on a ready Aljada one-bed can be elegant. The same structure on a villa that will not complete for three years is a different risk.

Bring a pre-approval if you have one. If you do not, we will tell you honestly whether the unit you want is a cash conversation.