"Dubai Holding Real Estate and Emirates NBD Partner to Introduce Integrated Off-Plan Mortgage Financing Across Meraas, Nakheel and Dubai Properties"

Dubai’s real estate market is entering a new phase.

Emirates NBD has partnered with Dubai Holding (Meraas, Nakheel, Dubai Properties) and Sobha Realty to integrate mortgages directly into the off-plan property purchase process.

At first glance, this looks like an improvement in financing. In reality, it’s a shift in the rules of investing.

How financing worked until now
When buying an off-plan property, you had to fund the project entirely with your own capital throughout construction.

👉 A mortgage was only available at the very end,
specifically for the final (handover) payment—at the time of property completion.

This meant:

• capital tied up for 2–3 years

• zero leverage during construction

And most importantly:
❗ The investor had to wait until handover to find out whether they would even qualify for a mortgage.

What’s changing now
The new model moves the mortgage to the beginning of the process.

👉 You get pre-approval (mortgage pre-approval) at the time of booking

This means that from the start:

• you know whether you qualify for a mortgage

• you understand your financing

• you can plan your cash flow

How financing works in practice (Emirates NBD)
👉 The mortgage is approved at the beginning, but the bank releases funds gradually.

In practice, financing kicks in when:

• approximately 50% of the property price has been paid

• the project reaches around 30% construction progress

Why this matters
This change does not mean you no longer need capital.

👉 It means:

• you don’t have to tie up all your capital from the start, and most importantly, you know from day one what you can rely on

What this means for real estate investors

• better cash flow management

• ability to invest in multiple projects

• use of leverage during construction

The biggest impact is on international investors, where financing uncertainty has been a major barrier until now.

Conclusion
Today, you no longer have to wait until project completion to find out whether the bank will grant you a mortgage.
You know from the very beginning—and can make decisions accordingly.

This brings greater certainty, better planning, and a completely new way of approaching real estate investing in Dubai.

If you’d like to know which specific projects already offer this model and where it makes the most sense from an investment perspective, don’t hesitate to contact us.

KUBR Real Estate