Four size fields in DLD unit data and price per sq ft

Dubai Land Department's unit data has four size columns, and the portal does not define them. A price per square foot changes with the size you divide by.

Which size fields does DLD's unit data have?

Dubai Land Department's open-data Unit Details download has four size columns: Property Size (in square metres), Balcony Area, Common Area and Actual Common Area (portal read 9 October 2026).

The portal names these columns but does not define them.

Balcony Area is a separate column from Property Size.

The download also has both a Common Area and an Actual Common Area column. The portal does not say how they differ. Keyva has not measured how often they disagree.

Why does the size field change the price per square foot?

A listing or a developer brochure that quotes "size" does not always say which of these four numbers it uses.

Dividing the same price by a larger size gives a lower price per square foot. Divide a sale price by Property Size alone and you get one figure. Add Balcony Area and a Common Area share to the size, and the figure shrinks. Nothing about the home or the price has changed.

Which size does Keyva use?

Keyva's price per square foot divides each registered sale price by the area recorded on that sale in DLD's transaction file. It does not use the Unit Details fields above.

/properties shows registered sale prices per square foot.

Keyva's listing checks page links to the Dubai Land Department's and RERA's own public checks. Keyva is independent and is not part of, or endorsed by, either body.

When can two prices per square foot be compared?

Only when both divide by the same size measure. Two figures quoted for the same home are comparable only on that basis.

Registered sale prices by area are on /areas. The method is on /how-we-compare.

Updated 9 October 2026: figures and wording corrected.