How the ZoneIQ Score works
The six factors, their weights, how we rank areas and why the score is a preview today.
Figures updated with data through 22 October 2026.
General information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own case, check the official sources or speak to a lawyer.
Source: DLD open data · Information, not financial advice. Not an official DLD product.
The ZoneIQ Score is one number from 0 to 100 for a Dubai area. It sums up what decides an investor's return: income after costs, price direction, new supply and how easily you can sell. Every input is shown next to the score, so you can disagree with the weights and still use the facts.
The six factors
| Factor | Weight | What it measures | In the score today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net yield | 30% | Rent from Ejari contracts minus service charges and costs, against the price. | Yes |
| Price momentum | 20% | 12-month change in DLD sale prices per sqft. | Yes |
| Rentability | 15% | How fast units lease and how often tenants renew. | Coming soon |
| Supply risk | 15% | Units due to hand over in the next 24 months. | Yes |
| Liquidity | 10% | How many units trade each month, so you can exit. | Yes |
| Running costs | 10% | Service charge per sqft against the Dubai median. | Coming soon |
How an area gets its number
- Only areas with enough data take part: at least 20 sales and 30 rent contracts in 12 months. 67 areas qualify today.
- Each factor is a percentile rank against the other qualifying areas. 80 means the area beats 80% of them on that factor. For supply risk and running costs, less is better, so the rank is flipped.
- The ranks are averaged with the weights. Today 4 factors have data, worth 75% together, so their weights are scaled up to 100.
- Bands: 75 and above strong (3 areas), 60 to 74 mixed (16), below 60 weak (48).
An example
Rukan has the highest score today: 81. Its factor ranks:
Preview score from 4 of 6 factors. The other factors need data we are still adding.
How the score worksWhy it is a preview
Rentability needs raw Ejari data on how fast units lease and how often tenants renew. Running costs needs service charge rates for most areas; it joins the score when the DLD Service Charge Index covers 80% of scored areas (today 30%). Until both are in, the score is labelled a preview and its version (0.1-preview) is shown.
What the score is not
- It is not a valuation of any unit, and not a forecast.
- It compares areas with each other. A strong score in a falling market can still lose money.
- It is not advice to buy or sell. Use it to choose which areas to look at closely.