How many projects does Emaar have in Dubai in 2026?
Twenty-seven, according to the Dubai Land Department register as of 5 August 2026, totalling 3,935 units with a declared value of AED 16.0 billion. That makes Emaar the most prolific developer in Dubai by project count and by value — but not by volume. Its 27 filings average 146 units each, against Binghatti's 16 projects averaging 684 units. Emaar registered a quarter of Binghatti's units while declaring nearly twice the value. The two are running opposite strategies: Binghatti is building density at scale, Emaar is building fewer, larger, more expensive homes. For a buyer that distinction matters more than the headline count, because it determines what you will be competing against when you come to let or sell. An Emaar villa phase of 160 units puts you alongside 159 neighbours; a Binghatti tower puts you alongside 1,400.
Emaar registered the most projects (27) and the highest value (AED 16.0B) — but only 3,935 units, a quarter of Binghatti's total.
The escrow record: 27 out of 27
This is the finding worth carrying away. Under Dubai law an off-plan project cannot lawfully sell units until its escrow account is open, and that account is the mechanism protecting buyer deposits. Across all 359 projects registered in Dubai in 2026, 102 — 28% — had no open escrow account at the time we checked. Among Emaar's 27 projects, the number without one is zero. Not a low number. Zero. We are not aware of another major developer with a clean sheet on this measure at this scale, and it is the kind of thing that never appears in marketing because it is only visible if you read the register rather than the brochure. It is also worth being precise about what this does and does not tell you. An open escrow account does not guarantee delivery on time, or that the finished product matches the render. What it does mean is that the legal protection the law intends for you is actually in place before you pay, which is not something you can assume elsewhere. Verify it yourself for your specific project regardless — registers change.
0 of 27 Emaar projects lacked an open escrow account. Market-wide, 102 of 359 did.
Where Emaar is actually building
The concentration is striking. Madinat Al Mataar — the Dubai South and Al Maktoum airport corridor — holds seven Emaar projects totalling 2,380 units: Terra Woods (824), Terra Gardens (561), Golf Vale (262), Vista Ridge (198), Grove Ridge (193), Golf Fields (181) and Golf Trails (161). That is 60% of Emaar's entire 2026 unit registration in one district, and it is the clearest signal available of where the company believes Dubai's growth is going. Madinat Al Mataar received 7,679 registered units in total in 2026, the most of any Dubai district, so Emaar is not alone in that bet — but it is the largest single institutional commitment to it. Elsewhere: Marsa Dubai takes 861 units in Palace by the Beach, Business Bay 694 in Avarra by Palace, and there are villa and townhouse phases across Al Yelayiss 5 (the Heights Country Club cluster: Faro, Faro 2, Salva, Serro, Serro 2), Al Yufrah 1 (The Valley — Alva, Alva 2, Alva 3) and Me'Aisem Second (Mareva at The Oasis).
Seven Emaar projects and 2,380 units — 60% of its 2026 registration — sit in the Al Maktoum airport corridor.
Completion dates run long
Emaar's registered completion dates cluster between 2029 and 2031, which is materially further out than the market norm. Palace by the Beach is registered for 30 November 2031, Avarra by Palace for 30 June 2031, Terra Woods and Golf Vale for March 2030, Terra Gardens for October 2029. Compare that with Binghatti's 2027 dates, or the 2027–2028 completions common across the mid-market. Two readings of that, and both are fair. The generous one is that Emaar registers realistic dates rather than optimistic ones, and its record of hitting them is better than most. The cautious one is simply that a 2031 handover is five years of market exposure, five years of payment obligations, and five years before you hold anything you can rent or sell. Neither reading changes what you should do: get the completion date for your specific phase written into the sale agreement, because the contract governs, not the register and not the brochure.
Emaar's 2026 registrations complete between 2029 and 2031 — several years later than the mid-market norm.
So is Emaar the safer buy?
On the measures the register can show, largely yes — and it is worth being clear about which measures those are. Escrow compliance is perfect. Declared value per unit is the highest in the market, which is consistent with a product that holds resale better. Project sizes are smaller, so internal competition at handover is lower than in the volume developers' towers. Emaar's masterplan record — Downtown, Dubai Marina, Dubai Hills, Arabian Ranches — is the strongest evidence in Dubai that a community built by this developer will actually be finished and maintained. What the register cannot tell you is whether the price is right. Emaar sells at a premium, and that premium is real and visible in per-square-foot terms. If you are buying for yield, the mid-market developers will produce better gross numbers; the honest case for Emaar is capital preservation, resale liquidity and a much lower probability of the specific disasters that befall buyers of small-developer off-plan. Buy Emaar for what it protects you from, not for the return.
Buy Emaar for what it protects you from, not for the yield.