Housing Type: Low, Medium, High income segment. Mainly leasing
Availability: Low
Traffic Congestion: High
Main Freehold Residential Projects: The Palm Deira, Creek Front.
Major Malls: Deira City Centre, Al Ghurair City, Reef Mall, Al Futtaim Centre (Marks & Spencer and Toys R' Us)
Proximity to Dubai International Airport: 5km's

Now often referred to as Old Dubai, this area consists of very densely populated areas and Dubai's traditional CBD's of Bani Yas and Muraqqabat. This area is dominated by Dubai Creek, around which Dubai has rapidly grown.

A large number of tourist attractions and hotels operate in this area and Deira is popular with tourists due to its proximity to historic areas of Dubai, such as the gold and spice souqs. Additionally, several shopping malls and government buildings are situated here.

Housing Type: Low, Medium, High income segment. Mainly leasing.
Availability: Low
Traffic Congestion: High
Main Freehold Residential Projects: Maritime City, Mina Rashid, Culture Village
Major Malls: Bur Juman, Lamcy Plaza, Al Khaleej Centre, Al Ain Centre, Karama Shopping Centre
Proximity to Dubai International Airport: 7km's

Bur Dubai is the second half of Dubai's traditional CBD and lies to the west of Dubai Creek. Like Deira, it is also very congested and very densely populated.

Several hotels, shopping malls and consulates and embassies are located here as well. Bur Dubai is famous for 'Bank Street' and 'Computer Street'. Additionally, it also contains vast textile markets and is home to a large percentage of Dubai's Indian population.

Housing Type: Medium, High income segment. Mainly leasing.
Availability: Low
Traffic Congestion: Low
Main Freehold Residential Projects: Dubai Festival City
Major Malls: Dubai Festival City
Proximity to Dubai International Airport: 5km's

Al Garhoud is located south west of Deira and is dominated by small to medium sized villa compounds. It is also home to the Dubai Festival City, which is amongst Dubai's leading entertainment destinations and will also shortly offer freehold property. Al Garhoud remains fairly undeveloped and is spared from the worst of Dubai's traffic congestion.

Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club and the Four Seasons Golf Course are located here. Additionally, several local and international schools, offering both an American and British curriculum can be found here.

Dubai International Airport forms a large part of Garhoud and will be heavily served by Dubai metro’s Red and Green Lines.

Housing Type: High income segment. Mainly leasing.
Availability: Low to Medium
Traffic Congestion: Medium
Main Freehold Residential Projects: The Palm Jumeirah, The World Islands
Major Malls: Dubai Festival City
Proximity to Dubai International Airport: 5km's

Jumeirah and Umm Suqueim house a large number of western expats in stand-alone villas and villa compounds. In general, these villas tend to be large and have a high quality (or luxury) finish.

The famous Jumeirah mosque, along with a number of shopping malls, is situated along the main roads running through Jumeirah and Umm Suqueim . The world famous Burj Al Arab Hotel, The Palm Jumeirah and The Atlantis, along with a number of high end luxury beach front hotels and resorts dot the Jumeirah coastline.

Housing Type: High income segment. Mainly leasing.
Availability: Medium
Traffic Congestion: Medium
Main Freehold Residential Projects: World Trade Centre District, The DIFC, The Business Bay, Downtown Burj Dubai

Sheikh Zayed Road is Dubai's primary growth corridor and road artery. Over the past decade, Dubai's CBD outgrew Deira and Bur Dubai and began to spread along Sheikh Zayed Road. Today, Sheikh Zayed Road is also home to the Dubai International Financial Centre (The DIFC) and The Business Bay, which will see Dubai Creek being extended by several kilometers in order to create prime water front commercial space.

Iconic buildings such as The Dubai World Trade Centre, The Emirates Towers and the Burj Dubai can be found here, along with one of the world's largest shopping centers, The Dubai Mall.

Housing Type: Medium and High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: Medium to High
Traffic Congestion: Medium
Main Freehold Residential Projects: All residential and commercial towers.

Dubai Marina sits in the heart of New Dubai and is dominated by residential and hotel towers. The 1.5 kilometer man made marina will be home to over 300 towers once it is fully completed. Ideally situated on Dubai’s coast and within easy reach of the Palm Jumeirah and several major shopping centers, Dubai Marina is seen as an ideal place to live for many of Dubai's western expats.

Marina Mall, The Walk and other smaller retail outlets serve the needs of the Marina's growing population. A planned tram line will run through the Marina, which is expected to alleviate some of the traffic congestion in the area.

Housing Type: Medium to High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: Medium to High
Traffic Congestion: Medium to High
Main Freehold Residential Projects: None.

Barsha sits at the entrance to New Dubai and is anchored by the Mall of the Emirates, which boasts the world's largest indoor ski slope, complete with a 400m black diamond run, which rises 15 storeys into the Dubai skyline.

Barsha mainly consists of stand-alone villas and medium sized villa compounds. The area also houses a large number of international schools and its location, off the North Bound side of Sheikh Zayed Road means that residents have easy access to Central Dubai.

Housing Type: High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: Medium to High
Traffic Congestion: Medium to High
Main Freehold Residential Projects: Accacia Avenue, Tecom, Dubai Pearl, The Palm Jumeirah

Al Sufouh is an extension of Jumeirah and Umm Suqueim, though it does not directly lie on Dubai's coast. The area houses two of Dubai's most prominent Business Parks, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. A number of international universities also have branches in Al Sufouh's Knowledge Village, including the American University in Dubai.

The area mainly consists of villas, though closer to the Marina end of Al Sufouh, there are more residential, commercial and hotel towers. The Palm Jumeirah is just across the road from Al Sufouh, as are a number of five star beach front hotels, including the Atlantis, Palm Jumeirah.

Housing Type: High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: Medium to High
Traffic Congestion: Low to Medium
Main Freehold Residential Projects: The Greens, The Views, The Lakes, The Hills, The Springs, The Meadows, Jumeirah Islands.

Emirates Living is a collection of gated communities and low to medium rise buildings, all of which have been built by Emaar, one the world's largest developers. The community of developments is collectively referred to as Emirates Living and is located in New Dubai, Just behind Jumeirah Lake Towers. The development consists of several large gated-villa communities, most of which are anchored by a community center, which consist of a supermarket; a community pool and a children's play area. Some of the larger villas have their own swimming pools. A large percentage of Dubai's expat population resides here. Nakheel's villa community, Jumeirah Village, is next door to Emirates Living.

A number of international schools and restaurants can also be found here, along with two world famous golf courses: the Emirates Golf Course and The Montgomery.

Housing Type: Low, Medium, High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: Medium to High
Traffic Congestion: Low to Medium
Main Freehold Residential Projects: The Palm Jebel Ali, Waterfront, Green Community, Dubai Investments Park, Dubai World Central, Discovery Gardens, The Arabian Canal

Jebel Ali is very close to the Abu Dhabi border and is home to the world's largest man made port and the Middle East's principle port – The Jebel Ali Port. The Jebel Ali Free Zone surrounds the port and is home to over 6,000 local and international companies. To accommodate the growing workforce in the area, several residential communities have been established, most of which consist of low rise buildings or large villa communities.

The Ibn Battuta shopping centre lies at the entrance to Jebel Ali and serves as an anchor shopping mall for the area, though many more are planned. Several new residential projects at the Dubai Investments Park, the Green Community, Waterfront and The Arabian Canal will address the growing shortage of residential units in the area. Also CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IS Dubai World Central, which will house over 800 towers and the World's largest Airport, Al Maktoum International Airport (JXB). JXB is expected to begin operations in October 2009.

Housing Type: Low, Medium, High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: High
Traffic Congestion: Low
Main Freehold Residential Projects: Arabian Ranches, The Villa, Jumeirah Golf Estates, The Tiger Woods Dubai, Liwan, Majan, Arjan, Teema, Asmaran, City of Arabia, Motor City, Remraam, Falcon City of Wonders

Billed as the largest theme park of its kind, Dubailand will be home to over 45 mega entertainment themed projects, in addition to several unique residential offerings. Spread over two billion ft², the majority of the development is still under construction and is not expected to be fully completed until after 2020. Several smaller residential villa projects, such as the Arabian Ranches, are already complete. Most property here is currently being sold off plan.

Major attractions at Dubailand so far include a Universal Studios & Marvel Comics theme park, The Mall of Arabia, the world's largest shopping centre and Bawadi- a 60-hotel, 60,000 room, Las Vegas style desert resort

Housing Type: Low, Medium, High income segment. Some leasing
Availability: High
Traffic Congestion: Low
Main Freehold Residential Projects: The Silicon Oasis, International City, Uptown Mirdiff

Located towards the south, south east of Central Dubai, Mirdiff has developed over the past few years as a secluded enclave of Dubai, away from the congestion and traffic of the rest of the city. Mirdiff mainly consists of villa compounds and low rise apartment blocks. Its location adjacent to Dubai International Airport does however contribute to a significant amount of noise pollution in the area. Several international schools and shopping malls are located in Mirdiff. Warqaa is adjacent to Mirdiff and offers similar types and styles of accommodation.

Also in the immediate vicinity of Mirdiff is the International City. Anchored by Dragon Mart, a Chinese themed wholesale shopping mall, the area offers a range of affordable apartments for sale and for lease. The Dubai Silicon Oasis is Dubai's latest technology free zone and offers a variety of residential villas and apartments of lease and for sale.