Short-term rentals in Dubai Creek Harbour — arbitrage & buying

Rent to operate, or buy to operate?

Rental arbitrage

Start with annual short-term revenue after modelled operating costs, then subtract the annual lease. Compare break-even occupancy with your own occupancy scenario and replace the registered rent benchmark with your actual contract.

Buy to short-term let

Compare modelled operating revenue with the supported purchase benchmark. Add acquisition, furnishing, service charges and financing costs before assessing your own return. A missing buy yield means insufficient sales evidence; rental economics can still be shown.

These scenarios assume 80% occupancy and self-management. Surplus excludes furnishing, deposits, permits, owner service charges and finance. Sampled asks are not achieved bookings; building-level rental benchmarks may pool project contracts. Check landlord permission and current DET holiday-home requirements before operating.

Median short-term yield: 9.54%; Assumes 80% occupancy
Median AED/night/sqft: 1.05AED
Median premium vs lease: 1.7×

Buildings in Dubai Creek Harbour

Sorted by modelled revenue relative to the registered lease. Each row selects the bedroom with the highest ratio in that building; it is a screening scenario, not a forecast.

Building	AED/night/sqft	Premium	After lease / yr	Break-even occupancy	Buy yield
Savanna at Creek Beach Building 3 · 2 bed	1.30	2.5×	AED 184,899	34.03%	13.55%
Savanna at Creek Beach Building 1 · 2 bed	1.24	2.5×	AED 184,051	34.24%	13.30%
Savanna at Creek Beach Building 2 · 2 bed	1.29	2.5×	AED 181,479	34.39%	Insufficient sales evidence
Island Park I · 1 bed	1.19	2.0×	AED 101,930	41.93%	11.22%
Surf at Creek Beach Building 1 · 3 bed	1.08	2.0×	AED 187,613	42.75%	Insufficient sales evidence
Surf at Creek Beach Building 2 · 1 bed	1.21	2.0×	AED 95,424	43.12%	11.84%
17 Icon Bay · 2 bed	1.01	1.9×	AED 123,243	44.39%	10.48%
The Grand · 1 bed	1.16	1.8×	AED 99,237	45.51%	9.72%
Bayshore at Creek Beach Building 4 · 1 bed	1.06	1.8×	AED 75,310	45.90%	10.95%
VIDA Residences at Creek Beach · 1 bed	1.22	1.8×	AED 86,901	46.66%	10.64%
Rosewater at Creek Beach Building 3 · 2 bed	1.18	1.8×	AED 133,209	46.88%	13.04%
Creek Palace · 1 bed	1.16	1.7×	AED 73,052	48.21%	9.35%
CREEK EDGE Tower 1 · 1 bed	1.00	1.7×	AED 70,362	49.21%	9.54%
Lotus at Creek Beach Building 3 · 1 bed	1.05	1.7×	AED 67,426	49.12%	9.90%
Lotus at Creek Beach Building 2 · 1 bed	0.99	1.7×	AED 66,723	49.44%	9.04%
Bayshore at Creek Beach Building 1 · 1 bed	0.97	1.7×	AED 61,898	49.68%	Insufficient sales evidence
Lotus at Creek Beach Building 4 · 1 bed	0.94	1.7×	AED 65,233	49.98%	9.32%
Palace Residences - North · 1 bed	1.08	1.6×	AED 62,179	51.03%	9.20%
Palace Residences · 1 bed	1.14	1.6×	AED 71,123	51.10%	8.74%
Orchid at Creek Beach Building 1 · 1 bed	0.93	1.6×	AED 56,107	53.09%	9.55%
Island Park II · 1 bed	0.98	1.5×	AED 59,115	53.98%	8.78%
Grove at Creek Beach Building 2 · 1 bed	0.88	1.5×	AED 53,740	55.39%	Insufficient sales evidence
Creekside 18 A · 3 bed	0.84	1.5×	AED 98,718	56.48%	8.76%
Grove at Creek Beach Building 1 · 1 bed	0.92	1.4×	AED 43,300	58.73%	Insufficient sales evidence
Grove at Creek Beach Building 5 · 2 bed	0.84	1.4×	AED 59,566	59.10%	8.62%
Harbour Views T1 · 1 bed	0.84	1.4×	AED 37,130	60.10%	7.89%
Creek Gate Tower 1 · 1 bed	0.80	1.2×	AED 25,659	65.62%	7.42%