The Lakes: valuing a community that barely trades
A small villa community where a handful of sales happen each year. That is a compliment to the place and a practical problem for a buyer.
Zulal
The Lakes · Emaar Properties
Project factsheet
Developer Emaar Properties
Completed 2006
District The Lakes
About the community
A residential community in The Lakes, completed in 2006. Developer — Emaar Properties.
Specifications for Zulal 1 per Propsearch and the Dubai Land Department. They describe the whole community, not the individual unit.
About the project
Zulal is a residential community in The Lakes, completed in 2006.
The developer is Emaar Properties.
The database currently holds 1 lot in this project, from 8 300 000 AED; 1 of them priced below the market, the deepest discount 5%.
Townhouses and villas by Emaar in The Lakes, handed over in 2006. Seven of our lots with 3–5 bedrooms, from AED 6.3 to 14.95 million, at AED 2,512/ft².
What this cluster is
Zulal is a residential cluster in The Lakes community, developed by Emaar. Per the directory, the first phase was completed in 2006; the cluster is listed in the catalogue as a single card.
The Lakes is one of Dubai's oldest villa districts, built around man-made lakes next to Emirates Hills and the Montgomerie golf course. Over twenty years the environment has fully matured: grown trees, a settled resident base, working infrastructure.
Our seven lots are townhouses and villas with 3, 4 and 5 bedrooms, sized from 2,888 to 4,098 square feet, all ready.
What the numbers show
Prices run from AED 6.3 to 14.95 million at an average of about AED 2,512/ft². That's a high level for the villa segment, and it's explained not by the house but by the address: The Lakes sits within the old prestige belt next to Emirates Hills.
The comparison is telling: Victory Heights, another mature golf-course community, runs at AED 2,486/ft², and La Quinta in Villanova at AED 1,662. The gap between them is the price of location.
All seven lots are listed with a discount, averaging 5.7% — a moderate figure for a market with steady demand.
What to check in a 2006 community
First — condition and the scope of past investment. Twenty years means some houses have been fully renovated while others remain in their original state. The gap in restoration cost here is at its widest.
Second — whether alterations were approved. In communities this age, extensions and layout changes are common, and responsibility for unapproved ones passes to the buyer.
Third — position relative to the lake and plot size. Both matter more for price than the house's own area, and listings usually leave them out.
propsearch building passport (developer, district, first-phase completion year, listing type) and our own stock as of 28 August 2026: 7 lots — price range, sizes, price per square foot, bedroom and type mix, completion status, number of discounted lots and the average discount.
The neighbouring cluster in the community — Deema 1 →Where it is
Lots in this project — 1
Frequently asked about Zulal
Who is the developer of Zulal?
Emaar Properties.
Has Zulal been handed over?
Yes. Zulal was handed over in 2006 — it is ready housing you can live in or let straight after the deal.
Where is Zulal?
The Lakes. The quietest and most rebuilt corner of Emirates Living: same build years as its neighbours, but a far higher share of houses taken back to the studs.
How much does an apartment in Zulal cost?
The database currently holds 1 lot in this project, from 8 300 000 AED; 1 of them priced below the market, the deepest discount 5%. Prices in the base are live and update every day; ask for the current list for the building before deciding.
In the news
What has been written about the building, its developer and The Lakes
The Lakes: how to negotiate a villa price when there is nothing to compare with
In a community with a handful of sales a year there is no market price as such. There is a way to approach it from a different direction.
Dubai rents turned down: The Lakes −10.8%, Jumeirah Park −9.7%
The Land Department’s updated rent index recorded what had until then only been discussed as a feeling. Three reasons, and why the third matters more than the first two.
Where this project stands today
I will send the available layouts, the real entry price and what owners and tenants actually say about the building — without the brochure language.
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