Resale (secondary market)
A resale is the purchase of a completed home from its current owner rather than from the developer; in Dubai it is contracted on Form F and transferred at a trustee office.
What Resale (secondary market) means for a buyer
UAE property is sold in two markets. The primary market is new homes sold by developers, usually off-plan. The secondary or resale market is homes bought from their owners: mostly completed homes, plus assignments of off-plan contracts before handover.
A Dubai resale follows a set path. Buyer and seller agree terms on Form F, the buyer usually lodges a 10% deposit cheque, the seller obtains the developer's NOC confirming no service charges are owed, and the transfer completes in one appointment at a registration trustee office. The Land Department puts the transfer itself at about 20 minutes once documents and cheques are in order. The buyer customarily pays the 4% transfer fee and their agent's commission.
Resale and off-plan suit different buyers. A resale can be inspected, let and mortgaged at once, and the price is set against recent registered sales. Off-plan offers staged payments but no rent until handover. Resales were 24% of Dubai sales by number in Q2 2026 and 29% in Q3 on Betterhomes' figures, so the primary market still dominates.
Compare the two in our off-plan vs ready guide, and read selling property in Dubai for the seller's side.
Guides that use this term
Where Resale (secondary market) comes up in practice, with the costs, rules and steps around it.
Questions about the buying process?
An adviser can explain how this applies to the property you're considering.
- Current price list and availability, direct from the developer
- No fee to you on off-plan purchases: the developer pays us
- One salaried adviser, not on commission, from first call to handover
