Cresco Insights

Research You Can Act On.

Long-form guides and market research from the Cresco desk. Every figure sourced, every claim checkable. New work published weekly.

Cresco Insights · Market Integrity

Questioning Dubai’s Market Practices Is Pro-Dubai

August 2026 · Off plan registered 27% above ready per square foot. A non resident on a 20/80 plan can be AED 1,000,000 short at handover even if the valuation holds. Five practices examined against 18,587 registered Dubai Land Department transactions, and one we refuse to claim without evidence.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

Dubai Price Per Square Foot by Community, in US Dollars

August 2026 · Registered Dubai Land Department prices for 15 communities converted to dollars. From $356 per sq ft in Dubai Sports City to $820 on Palm Jumeirah. Rebuilt monthly.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

The Real Cost of Buying Property in Dubai as an American

August 2026 · Every fee with a number. The 4% DLD transfer fee, trustee office fee, title deed, agency commission, NOC and mortgage registration. A $500,000 apartment completes at about $532,500.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

What Dubai Property Actually Trades

August 2026 · Studios and one bedrooms are 74% of every registered Dubai sale. Forty four percent of sales were under

50,000. Fewer than one in seventeen crossed a million dollars.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

How to Verify a Dubai Developer Before You Wire Money

August 2026 · Six public checks in fifteen minutes: Dubai REST, escrow under Law No. 8 of 2007, Trakheesi permit, ORN and BRN, Oqood. Plus what escrow will never protect you from.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

Can a US Citizen Get a Mortgage in Dubai?

August 2026 · Non residents get 60% to 65% loan to value and almost never finance for off plan. What that means for an American buyer.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

What $500,000 Actually Buys in Dubai

August 2026 · We converted 18,587 registered Dubai Land Department sales into dollars. $500,000 buys 1,406 sq ft in Dubai Sports City and 610 sq ft on Palm Jumeirah. Six Dubai communities beat Miami on space per dollar. Nine do not.

Cresco Insights · Registered Price Data

Off Plan vs Ready in Dubai: The 27% Gap

August 2026 · Off plan registered a median 27% above ready per square foot across 60 like for like Dubai Land Department comparisons. In six of them off plan was cheaper. What that means for a US buyer who cannot finance off plan.

Cresco Insights · Cost of Ownership

What Dubai Property Actually Costs to Own: 13 Real Service Charges

August 2026 · We read 58 developer project briefs and pulled the verified service charge from 13 projects. AED 4 to AED 25 per square foot, converted to dollars on real unit sizes. A 7,610 sq ft villa costs 26% less per year to hold than a 1,642 sq ft Palm Jumeirah apartment. 9 min read.

Cresco Insights · US Estate Tax

The $60,000 Trap: US Estate Tax for Gulf Buyers

August 2026 · A US citizen shields $15M from estate tax; a Gulf investor holding US property directly shields just $60,000, with the rest taxed up to 40% and no Gulf treaty to soften it. What it costs and how to structure around it. 8 min read.

Cresco Insights · US → Dubai

How to Transfer Money from the USA to Dubai

August 2026 · The 1 percent remittance tax that almost certainly does not touch your wire, what a seven-figure transfer really costs and how to time it to the DLD date. 16 min read.

Cresco Insights · UAE Residency

Dubai Golden Visa Through Property Investment

August 2026 · The AED 2 million threshold, the February 2026 change that opened it to off-plan buyers and what it does not do for a US citizen. 15 min read.

Cresco Insights · Where You Can Buy

Freehold Areas in Dubai for Foreign Buyers

August 2026 · Which parts of Dubai a foreign national can actually own outright, area by area and the freehold-versus-leasehold distinction that decides it. 15 min read.

Cresco Insights · The Starting Question

Can Americans Buy Property in Dubai?

August 2026 · The law, the costs, the process and the US tax rules that follow you home. 15 min read.

Cresco Insights · US vs UAE

Dubai vs the USA: Is It Safe? An American Investor’s 2026 Reality Check

July 2026 · Two questions in one. Is your family safe and is your money safe. On the safety that compounds wealth over decades, the US is the global benchmark; Dubai is the growth diversifier.

Cresco Insights · US Tax Side

Buy Real Estate in Dubai From the USA: The American Tax Side

July 2026 · The American half of buying in Dubai. FBAR, Form 8938, worldwide rental income on Schedule E, 30-year depreciation, why the foreign tax credit credits nothing, the 2026 capital-gains and $15M estate rules, the Form 5471 trap and California’s reach. Every figure sourced. 12 min read.

Cresco Insights · Dubai Prime

Luxury Real Estate in Dubai for American Buyers: The 2026 Guide

July 2026 · Prime Dubai at about US$1,170 per sq ft against US$2,610 in New York, a record 296 super-prime sales while the wider market cools, the true cost stack and what the purchase does to your US tax return. 14 min read.

Cresco Research · City Comparison

Dubai vs Miami: Cost of Living, Lifestyle & Real Estate Compared

July 2026 · Records, not opinions: living costs (Dubai ~27% cheaper), the tax gap, safety, seasons, yields and the residency question. 13 min read.

The Bridge Series · Tax Guide

US Real Estate Taxes for GCC Investors, Explained in Plain Language

August 2026 · Four taxes with 2026 rates and thirteen data tables: the election worth $16,900 a year, a $103,636 FIRPTA refund and a $388,800 estate bill on a $1.2m home. 18 min read.

The Bridge Series · US → Dubai

How to Buy Property in Dubai from the USA. The 2026 Guide

July 2026 · Freehold rights for Americans, the DLD process, costs, payment plans, the Golden Visa and the US reporting rules other guides skip. 13 min read.

Cresco Research No. 01

Los Angeles vs Miami: What the Data Actually Says

July 2026 · Two gateway markets compared with public records only. Prices, speed, houses vs condos, migration, luxury, cash and supply. 11 min read.

The Bridge Series · Pillar Guide

How GCC Capital Buys American Real Estate. The Complete Guide

July 2026 · The wealth migration, the ownership rules, structures, financing without US credit, taxes in plain language and LA vs Miami by the records. 14 min read.

Next in the series: Taxes for GCC buyers in the US.

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