Everything You Need to Know About Tilal Al Ghaf

Tilal Al Ghaf, who is it for. A deep dive into the community, clusters, transactions and insights

11/6/202615 min read

Tilal Al Ghaf Deep Dive 2026: Every Cluster, Price and Risk


Tilal Al Ghaf at a glance

Tilal Al Ghaf is Majid Al Futtaim's flagship villa community on Hessa Street, built around a swimmable lagoon with white sand beaches. The developer describes it as more than 3 million sq m with about 3,500 homes, over 100 retail outlets and a 110,000 sq m lagoon and beach club.

The community is entirely low-rise: townhouses and twin villas in Elan and Aura, family villas in Harmony and Amara, larger villas in Alaya and Plagette32, and mansions in Alaya Beach, Elysian, Serenity, Bo Monde and Lanai Islands. Schools on or near the site include the Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai inside the community.

Activity has slowed, in line with the wider market. Over the 12 months to 5 November 2026, DLD recorded 372 sales worth about AED 4.19 billion, down roughly 25% in volume on the year before. The median sale price was AED 7.8 million and the median price per sq ft was AED 2,050, up 2.6% on the year.

The last six months were flatter: 129 sales, down 27%, with the median price per sq ft up just 0.2%. For context, the community averaged AED 884 per sq ft on DLD in 2020, AED 2,160 in 2025 and AED 2,195 so far in 2026.


Tilal Al Ghaf against the whole Dubai villa market

The slowdown is citywide, and Tilal Al Ghaf has held up better than most. These figures cover villa and townhouse sales only, no apartments, on DLD for the 12 months to 5 November 2026, compared with the 12 months before.

Transaction volume. Dubai recorded 11,787 villa and townhouse sales, down 47%. Tilal Al Ghaf recorded 372, down 25%, so its volume fell about half as fast as the city's.

Where the drop came from. Most of Dubai's fall was off-plan: developer villa sales dropped 56% to 6,647 as new launches dried up. Villa resales fell 27% to 5,140. Almost all of Tilal Al Ghaf's sales are resales (359 of 372), and those fell 21%, less than Dubai's villa resale market.

Median resale price. Across Dubai, the median villa and townhouse resale price rose 13% to AED 5.65 million, and the median price per sq ft rose 6% to AED 1,640. In Tilal Al Ghaf, the median resale price rose 9% to AED 7.6 million and the median price per sq ft rose 4% to AED 2,050.

What it means. Tilal Al Ghaf is losing buyers more slowly than the rest of Dubai's villa market, and its price per sq ft is growing at a similar rate, from a level about 25% higher. It is a slowing market, not a falling one, and so is Dubai's villa market as a whole.

Renting is growing even as sales slow. DXB Interact shows 1,110 lease registrations so far in 2026, already more than the 1,033 recorded in all of 2025. The median annual rent eased from AED 250,000 in 2025 to AED 240,000 in 2026.

Elan: the entry ticket that more than doubled


Elan is the community's first and most affordable cluster: 916 townhouses, 611 with 3 bedrooms and 305 with 4, completed in November 2023. Built-up areas are about 2,150 sq ft for the 3-bed and 2,350 sq ft for the 4-bed, and residents share pools, gyms, play areas and lagoon access.

It launched in 2020 and sold fast. In December 2020, DLD shows 3-beds of 1,512 sq ft selling from the developer at AED 1,347,000 to 1,419,000. On 13 October 2026, two 3-beds of the same registered size resold at AED 3,380,000 and AED 3,650,000. By my calculation that is AED 904 per sq ft at launch (AED 1,367,000 on 28 December 2020) against AED 2,235 to 2,416 now, roughly 2.5 to 2.7 times the entry price.

Over the last 12 months, Elan recorded 31 three-bed sales at a median of AED 3.73 million and 37 four-bed sales at a median of AED 4.4 million. Rents are deep and steady: 352 three-bed leases at a median AED 185,000 and 173 four-bed leases at AED 230,000. That is a gross yield of about 5.0% on a 3-bed and 5.2% on a 4-bed at today's prices.

The risk is that growth has paused. Elan's DLD average per sq ft is lower in 2026 (AED 2,060) than in 2025 (AED 2,286), and 3-bed medians have held around AED 3.7 million rather than climbing. Elan suits end users and yield investors more than buyers chasing another doubling.

Aura and Aura Gardens: townhouses and twin villas, now ready

Aura is the second townhouse cluster: 808 homes split into 295 three-beds, 433 four-beds and 80 five-beds, a mix of townhouses and 4-bed and 5-bed twin villas. Aura 1 & 2 are exclusively twin villas while Aura Gardens are a mix of townhouses and twin villas DLD records it completed in October 2025. Floor plans show about 2,175 sq ft for a 3-bed and 2,470 to 3,410 sq ft for a 4-bed.

The 4-bed twin villa is the best like-for-like example. On 15 December 2021, a 2,374 sq ft 4-bed sold from the developer for AED 2,982,000, or AED 1,256 per sq ft. On 27 October 2026, a 2,373 sq ft 4-bed resold for AED 6,850,000, or AED 2,887 per sq ft. That is about 2.3 times the launch price in under five years.

Position and upgrades now matter a lot. In July and August 2026, 4-beds of almost identical registered size (2,372 sq ft) traded anywhere from AED 5.5 million to AED 7.55 million. Buyers should compare plot position, views and fit-out, not just bedroom count.

Over the last 12 months the medians were AED 4.19 million for a 3-bed (46 sales), AED 6.3 million for a 4-bed (54 sales) and AED 6.2 million for a 5-bed (10 sales). Median rents were AED 220,000, AED 307,080 and AED 330,000, giving gross yields of about 5.3%, 4.9% and 5.3%. Aura is one of the most rented clusters in the community, with 248 four-bed leases in the year.

Harmony: the family villa benchmark

Harmony is three gated phases of standalone villas, 885 homes in total: 529 four-beds, 332 five-beds and 24 six-beds. DLD lists Harmony 2 and 3 as complete in February 2025 and Harmony 1 in March 2025. Floor plans show 4-beds of about 3,740 to 3,915 sq ft and 5-beds of 4,416 to 5,154 sq ft, several with an optional garden suite, and each phase has its own pool and gym.

Harmony shows what early buyers earned. On 5 December 2021, a 4-bed in Harmony 3 with a registered 4,650 sq ft sold from the developer for AED 4,002,000. In 2026, 4-beds of the same size in the same phase resold at AED 9,000,000 (21 August) and AED 8,550,000 (10 September). By my calculation that is AED 861 per sq ft at launch against AED 1,839 to 1,935 now.

Over the last 12 months, Harmony recorded 28 four-bed sales at a median AED 8.8 million, 37 five-bed sales at AED 13.0 million and 6 six-bed sales at AED 17.98 million. Median rents were AED 460,000, AED 732,500 and about AED 1.09 million, which works out to gross yields of about 5.2%, 5.6% and 6.0%.

The warning sign is volume. Harmony sales fell by about half compared with the previous 12 months, while prices still rose. Fewer sellers are listing and fewer buyers are paying up, so expect longer negotiations on the next sale.

Alaya: grand villas, late in construction

Alaya is a neighbourhood of 407 grand villas with 4, 5 and 6 bedrooms, built by contractor UNEC. Buyers could choose a Modernist or Mediterranean facade and extended Zen Suites. Floor plans run from about 5,825 sq ft for a 4-bed to 8,149 sq ft for a large 5-bed and 9,522 sq ft for a 6-bed.

Alaya has missed its stated timeline. Majid Al Futtaim targeted completion by mid-2026, but DLD still showed construction at 91% and many resales in October 2026 were still registered as off-plan.

Prices have held up through construction. One 5-bed with a registered 10,382 sq ft sold from the developer for AED 13,250,000 on 16 December 2022 and resold for AED 20,000,000 on 6 October 2026, a 51% rise. A smaller 5-bed of 6,028 sq ft sold at AED 8,198,000 in November 2022; another of the same size resold for AED 12,700,000 on 25 September 2026.

Over the last 12 months, Alaya recorded 42 five-bed sales at a median AED 12.8 million, 13 four-beds at AED 11.85 million and 7 six-beds at AED 24.5 million. Only five leases have been registered so far, at AED 750,000 to AED 1.2 million a year, too few to set a reliable yield.

Alaya Beach: the lagoon-front edge of Alaya

Alaya Beach is a small, gated waterfront release of 14 mansions and 30 Reserve Grand Villas, each with direct access to Lagoon Al Ghaf and a private neighbourhood beach. Homes come in 5 and 6-bedroom layouts.

For buyers, the point is scarcity. With only 44 homes on the water, resale stock is thin, so pricing is set deal by deal rather than by a deep pool of comparables. Ask for the last two or three Alaya Beach transfers by plot before you agree on a number.

Elysian Mansions: bespoke mansions by the lagoon

Elysian Mansions is a gated enclave of about 94 customisable 5 and 6-bedroom waterfront mansions, with living areas starting around 11,000 sq ft. DLD also records a handful of 7-bed homes. Homes come in lagoon-side, hilltop and park-lane settings, with residents sharing a private beach and beach club.

Like Alaya, Elysian is past its target. DLD shows construction at 95% and resales in October 2026 were still registered as off-plan, against a mid-2026 completion goal.

The clearest same-unit example: a 5-bed with a registered 8,913 sq ft sold from the developer for AED 18,323,000 on 16 December 2022 and resold for AED 22,500,000 on 19 August 2026. That is a 23% rise over about three and a half years, or AED 2,056 to AED 2,524 per sq ft by my calculation.

Prices swung hard in 2026. A 9,716 sq ft five-bed resold for AED 16.0 million on 26 March 2026, then the same home sold again for AED 22.3 million on 4 September. A 7-bed of 16,669 sq ft moved from AED 31.71 million in June to AED 38.5 million in October. Motivated sellers in spring created real discounts that the market has since absorbed.

Over the last 12 months, Elysian recorded 10 five-bed sales at a median AED 22.4 million and 6 six-beds at AED 45.9 million. Only two leases are registered, both at AED 2.0 million a year for 5-beds, too few to quote a yield.

Amara: twin villas around a central park

Amara is 116 twin villas set around a landscaped central park, mostly 4-beds (100 units) with a few 3 and 5-beds. UNEC won the contract in April 2025, with completion expected in the second half of 2026. A typical 4-bed floor plan is about 5,413 sq ft built-up, and the developer plan was 10% down, 50% during construction and 40% on handover.

Gains so far are modest and depend on the unit. One 4-bed with a registered 3,713 sq ft sold from the developer for AED 7,051,000 on 10 July 2024 and resold for AED 7,600,000 on 28 July 2026, up 7.8% before the 4% DLD fee and agent costs. A larger 6,443 sq ft corner unit went from AED 8,276,000 to AED 10,500,000 (10 March 2026), up 27%.

Over the last 12 months, 23 four-bed resales cleared at a median AED 8.3 million. The most recent, on 2 November 2026, was AED 8.5 million for a 3,713 sq ft unit, or AED 2,289 per sq ft against about AED 1,879 at launch by my calculation. With handover close, expect a test of how many investors list at once when the final 40% falls due.

Plagette32: beach-club villas with thin resale gains

Plagette32 is a waterfront neighbourhood of 28 Club Villas and four Water Bungalows, with interiors by Bergman Design House and a beach club run with Sunset Hospitality at its centre. Most units are 4-beds; the four largest 5-bed homes sold from the developer at AED 28.35 million to AED 34 million in 2024.

This is where the luxury story gets thinner. Three same-unit resales in 2026 show gains of 6% to 10% over about two and a half years: AED 7,546,000 to AED 8,000,000, AED 7,964,000 to AED 8,700,000, and AED 8,162,000 to AED 8,950,000. After the 4% DLD transfer fee and agent fees, those sellers made little or nothing.

Serenity Mansions: the newest mansion phase, priced flat so far

Serenity Mansions is 109 customisable 5 to 7-bedroom mansions designed by SAOTA and Nabil Gholam. Dutco Construction won the AED 1.5 billion build contract in April 2025. DLD lists 76 five-beds, 16 six-beds and 17 seven-beds, with registered sizes of roughly 9,400 to 17,600 sq ft and a 10/50/40 payment plan.

Sales started in December 2023, when 5-beds sold from the developer at AED 23 million to AED 34 million depending on type and position. The developer was still selling in 2026: a 5-bed at AED 32,594,000 in January and a 6-bed at AED 33,460,000 in February.

Resales have gone through at exactly the original price. A 5-bed bought for AED 32,000,000 on 28 December 2023 resold for AED 32,000,000 on 11 December 2025. Two others bought at AED 33,187,000 and AED 33,959,000 in December 2023 resold at those same figures in 2025. After transfer fees, those sellers took a small loss.

Serenity Mansions Waterfront Collection: the lagoon-edge 7-beds

The Waterfront Collection is the lagoon-facing release inside Serenity Mansions: 7-bedroom homes in two designs, KAI and FAY, with options on finishes and layouts. DLD shows 7-bed Serenity mansions of about 14,500 to 15,400 sq ft selling from the developer at AED 54.0 million to AED 55.0 million between December 2023 and April 2025.

With no recent trades, there is no market price for these homes yet. Anyone selling before handover will be setting the benchmark, which cuts both ways.

Bo Monde: 13 mansions, the final ultra-luxury release

Bo Monde is a private circle of 13 mansions, which the official site describes as a select, exclusive neighbourhood. Portal listings show 6 and 7-bedroom homes with basements, private pools and built-up areas around 12,800 sq ft, and some are registered on DLD under the Serenity Mansions project.

Lanai Islands: AED 64 to 105 million island mansions

Lanai Island sits inside Lagoon Al Ghaf: 13 mega-mansions designed by SAOTA with interiors by Kelly Hoppen. DLD records 7 and 8-bed homes with registered sizes of about 19,900 to 26,500 sq ft. Developer sales ran from AED 64.1 million to a record AED 105 million (27 August 2024).

Resales here have been flat. An 8-bed bought for AED 91,000,000 in August 2023 resold for AED 91,035,590 on 16 September 2026. A 7-bed bought for AED 64,092,000 in December 2023 changed hands twice in 2025 at the same AED 64,092,000.

At this level the buyer pool is a handful of families a year. Only one Lanai sale has been recorded in 2026, so liquidity, not price, is the main risk.

Demand, supply and what people are saying

Demand has shifted from buying to renting. Villa and townhouse sales in the community fell 25% over the last 12 months, against a 47% drop across Dubai's villa market, while lease registrations in 2026 already exceed all of 2025.

Prime prices have held better than volumes. Savills put prime villa and townhouse prices up 3.6% year on year in Q3 2026 at AED 2,791 per sq ft, with like-for-like villa prices unchanged on the quarter. Bayut's Q3 2026 report estimated a 5.5% gross yield for luxury villas in Tilal Al Ghaf, in line with the 5% to 6% I calculated from DLD rents and sales.

The supply that matters is inside the gates. DLD counts 776 Tilal Al Ghaf units still off-plan: Alaya, Elysian, Amara, Plagette32, Serenity Mansions and Lanai, nearly all above AED 8 million. As they hand over in late 2026 and 2027, some investors will list for resale or rent at the same time, which can soften prices and rents in the top tiers.

Across Dubai, DLD counts about 44,100 villas and townhouses still off-plan in 128 projects. That is the competing stock Tilal Al Ghaf owners will face as those projects hand over, mostly at lower price points.

The general public sentiment is very positive. Residents specifically enjoy the family-friendly environment, the beach and lagoon lifestyle, design and build quality, and greenery. Some complained about the constant construction noises in some clusters.

Residents mostly like what they get. In a May 2026 Reddit thread comparing Dubai Hills, Arabian Ranches 3 and Tilal Al Ghaf for a family rental, the poster praised new, modern, well-built villas and a good community, and named distance to malls as the only drawback. Replies countered that Dubai Hills Mall is 12 to 15 minutes away.

The Harmony 2 owner interviewed by The National praised the quality, quiet streets and upgrades, but noted her villa backs onto the D54 road and that shops and restaurants are still filling in. The biggest live concern is timing: in June 2026, Majid Al Futtaim denied reports that the regional conflict had delayed handovers, saying buyer notices were standard SPA updates.

Future plans

The next 12 to 18 months are about handovers, no launches. Alaya, Elysian Mansions, Amara, Plagette32 and Lanai Island are all in late construction, with Serenity Mansions, its Waterfront Collection and Bo Monde following.

Plagette32 brings the community's beach club, operated with Sunset Hospitality, which should add a dining and leisure anchor on the lagoon. New schools will be opening nearby, including GEMS School of Research and Innovation and a newly announced Queen Elizabeth's school.

The developer is financially strong but busy elsewhere. Majid Al Futtaim reported record first-half 2026 EBITDA of AED 2.5 billion, development revenue up 38% and a development pipeline above AED 100 billion, including an AED 62 billion mixed-use community with Dubai South. It also noted a tougher second quarter because of the regional conflict.

Projections: three scenarios for the next 12 to 24 months

None of these is a promise. They are ranges built from the data above, and each depends on assumptions that can break.

Base case: flat to modest growth, roughly 0% to 5% a year for ready homes. This assumes the regional situation stays contained, prime demand holds at today's level and the 776 remaining homes hand over gradually through 2027. It is consistent with Savills' 3.6% annual rise in prime villa prices and the community's flat six-month trend. Rents would likely hold near today's median, with some softening in the AED 10 million-plus tier as new mansions reach the market.

Downside: falls of 5% to 15%, sharper for mansions. This assumes the conflict escalates again, or several hundred late-stage off-plan owners try to sell at handover at once. Spring 2026 showed what this looks like: an Elysian 5-bed sold for AED 16 million in March, about 28% below the same home's September price. Thinly traded clusters like Lanai and the Waterfront Collection would be hardest to sell.

Steady gains of 5% to 10% a year. This assumes the conflict eases and international buyers return in force. Tilal Al Ghaf has little new stock left to launch, so scarcity would favour the completed clusters, especially Harmony, Aura and lagoon-front Alaya. However, observing the current trend, surges in transaction value are occurring on and around handover.


My recommendations

If you are buying to live in, Harmony and Aura give you a finished, lived-in community today, with real comparables to negotiate from. Pick the plot first: in Aura, the same-sized 4-bed traded from AED 5.5 million to AED 7.55 million in two months.

If you want rental income, Elan and Aura have the deepest tenant demand, with hundreds of leases a year and gross yields around 5% to 5.3%. Budget for service charges and maintenance, which will bring the net figure lower.

If you want capital growth, Buy off-plan resale. With no more launches planned in the community, your best chance for capital growth is buying off-plan resale and selling on or around handover. Pro tip: holding for a few months after handover after the distressed units are sold will yield you the best results. Transactions require time to reflect on DLD so speak to an area expert to give you insights on the recent sales to yield the highest profit.

Thinking about a home in Tilal Al Ghaf? Contact us for the latest same-cluster comparables before you make an offer.

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