Real Estate Terms & Units
Decode a UAE property listing: price per sqft, sqft vs sqm and BUA vs plot, property types from studio to villa, and view and lifestyle terms like chiller-free, furnished, en-suite and vacant vs tenanted.
How UAE property is measured and priced
Price per square foot (PSF)
Almost every UAE listing has a size, a price, and a hidden third number that ties them together. Learn that third number and you can compare any two homes fairly.
A square foot (sqft) is a small square of floor, one foot on each side. A large 2-bedroom will always cost more in total than a small studio, so a total price alone tells you little. PSF is the great equaliser: two homes in the same building should have a similar PSF, so if one is far higher or lower, you have found something worth a second look.
To find PSF, divide the total price by the size in sqft. A 1,200 sqft apartment is listed at AED 1,800,000:
To go the other way and find a price from a PSF, multiply. A 1,000 sqft flat at AED 1,300 PSF:
- PSF = total price ÷ size in sqft. It compares homes of different sizes fairly.
- Price = PSF × size in sqft. Two homes in one building should have a similar PSF.
Square feet and square metres, and how to convert
The UAE uses two different size units, and listings mix them freely. If you can switch between them in your head, no listing can confuse you.
Why does this matter? A listing might say "90 sqm" while the buyer thinks in sqft, or the price might be quoted "per sqft" while the size is in sqm. If you convert first, you compare like with like. A square metre is about 10.76 times bigger than a square foot, so the sqft number is always the larger of the two for the same home.
Convert sqm to sqft (multiply by 10.7639). A 120 sqm apartment:
Convert sqft to sqm (divide by 10.7639). A 1,500 sqft villa:
Now combine both skills. A 100 sqm flat priced at AED 1,615,000: first the size is 100 × 10.7639 = 1,076.39 sqft, then:
- 1 sqm = 10.7639 sqft. Multiply to go sqm to sqft; divide to go sqft to sqm.
- A square metre is bigger, so the sqft figure for a home is always the larger number.
Built-up area (BUA) vs plot area
A listing can quote more than one "size", and they mean very different things. Mixing them up makes a home look cheaper or more expensive than it really is.
• Built-up area (BUA) = the total floor space you can actually use inside the home, added up across all floors. For a villa that includes the ground floor plus the upper floors.
• Plot area (also "land area") = the size of the piece of land the home sits on, including the garden and any outdoor space. It applies to villas and townhouses, not to apartments.
• Suite area / net area = just the inside living space, without the shared walls and balconies.
For an apartment, the size quoted is normally the BUA (there is no plot, since the land is shared). For a villa, a listing often shows both: a plot area (the land) and a BUA (the building on it). A villa can have a large plot but a smaller BUA, or the reverse, so always read which number a price is based on. A PSF worked out on plot area is not comparable to a PSF worked out on BUA.
- BUA = usable floor space across all floors; plot area = the land the home sits on.
- Apartments quote BUA (no plot). Villas often show both, so check which one a PSF uses.
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Create your free profile- Property types · 2 lessons
- Views and lifestyle terms · 3 lessons
- Reading a listing · 2 lessons
- The test — 25 questions