Areas
Dubai Studio City: Buying Guide, Prices & Listings
A TECOM broadcasting and media production free zone in Dubailand, with a small and newly emerging pocket of freehold apartments.
Highlights
About Dubai Studio City
Dubai Studio City is a TECOM Group free zone in Dubailand, built for the broadcasting and film-production industry rather than for housing. It opened in 2005 as a three-phase development covering roughly 22 million square feet, and it sits alongside Dubai Media City and Dubai Production City in what TECOM calls its Media Cluster. The zone’s built environment is dominated by sound stages, backlots, sets, water tanks, production offices, boutique studios, light-industrial units and commercial office space, plus a dedicated hotel, Studio One Hotel, for crews and business visitors.
A residential layer has started to appear on top of that — a small number of freehold apartment towers, including Ghaff Land Residence and Azizi Developments’ Beach Oasis 2, both still under construction. Fidu currently has live listings in Azizi Beach Oasis 2. It would be misleading, though, to call Dubai Studio City a residential community in the way Motor City is — most of the land here is still leased to production and commercial tenants. Buyers wanting a more rounded, family-oriented area nearby should also compare Motor City and the wider mixed-use Dubai Production City.
Dubai Studio City in a nutshell
- Location: Dubailand, off Al Qudra Road and Hessa Street, between Motor City and Dubai Production City.
- Master developer: TECOM Group, established 2005.
- Size: approximately 22 million square feet across three development phases.
- Primary use: broadcasting, film and TV production facilities, light industrial units and commercial office space.
- Residential product: a small, growing number of freehold apartment towers (studio to 2-bedroom), still largely under construction.
- Metro: no station inside the zone; nearest rail access is by bus connection to Mall of the Emirates (Red Line) or Al Furjan (Route 2020).
- Neighbours: Motor City (north), Dubai Production City / former IMPZ (adjacent), Dubai Sports City nearby.
TenureFreehold by market consensus only
Property typesApartments only
Gross rental yield6.40-8.17%
HandoverUnder construction/off-plan only, no meaningful resale market yet
Neighbourhood
Property types and sub-communities
Fidu’s current inventory in Dubai Studio City is off-plan apartments in Azizi Beach Oasis 2, a 10-storey Azizi Developments tower with studio, 1- and 2-bedroom units and a shared lagoon-style pool, expected to hand over around mid-2026. The other notable residential project is Ghaff Land Residence, a 168-unit building from Arabian Gulf Properties / Refine Development Management offering studios, 1- and 2-bedroom apartments and 2-bedroom duplexes, targeting completion in late 2027. Both are recent additions to a district whose land bank was, and largely still is, allocated to studios and commercial units rather than apartment plots. For more established residential blocks and villas nearby, cross-shop Motor City directly north.
Freehold status — who can buy
Dubai’s foreign-ownership framework starts with Regulation No. 3 of 2006 (Dubai Land & Property Department), which named the emirate’s first designated freehold areas — Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and similar communities. That original list does not name Dubai Studio City or Dubailand specifically; freehold status here rests on later government decisions expanding designated ownership areas to TECOM free zones and Dubailand, which is why developers such as Azizi and Arabian Gulf Properties can market units to non-UAE nationals on a freehold basis. We could not trace the specific dated instrument that added Dubai Studio City to the freehold list, so treat this as market consensus rather than a fact verified against a named document — confirm ownership structure on the title deed for any unit before committing.
Golden Visa eligibility
The federal threshold is unchanged regardless of area: a property (or portfolio of properties) valued at AED 2,000,000 or more at the Dubai Land Department can qualify a buyer for the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa, subject to the standard eligibility rules. Given typical unit prices at Azizi Beach Oasis 2 and Ghaff Land Residence, reaching that threshold in Dubai Studio City on its own would generally mean combining several units or pairing this purchase with another Dubai property.
Handover and completion status
Both live residential projects here are off-plan and under construction. Azizi Beach Oasis 2 is being marketed toward a Q2 2026 handover, and Ghaff Land Residence toward completion in December 2027; both dates come from developer and market listings rather than a DLD-published handover record, so treat them as indicative and reconfirm with the developer before relying on either. There is no meaningful secondary (resale/ready) apartment market here yet — buying today means buying off-plan.
Sales trends and price per square foot
Despite this area’s business/media-zone character, Bayut’s Dubai Studio City area guide shows genuine residential apartment stock with real pricing: average asking sale prices of AED 653,000 (studio), AED 981,000 (1-bed), AED 1,545,000 (2-bed) and AED 1,610,000 (3-bed), based on listings over the trailing 12 months. Fidu could not source a per-square-foot figure specifically.
Rental trends and demand drivers
The same Bayut area guide puts average asking rents at AED 49,000 (studio), AED 71,000 (1-bed), AED 104,000 (2-bed) and AED 121,000 (3-bed), based on listings over the trailing 12 months.
Gross rental yield
Bayut’s own ROI calculation for Dubai Studio City, based on user searches over the trailing 12 months, puts apartment yields at 6.40%–8.17% depending on size — a genuinely strong, affordable-apartment-style return. This is a listings-and-search-based estimate, not a DLD-confirmed transaction yield.
Service charges — what you’ll actually pay
Not published here. Fidu could not verify a current service-charge figure for Dubai Studio City against a Mollak source directly — the Dubai Land Department’s Service Charge Index requires an account login to view project-level rates, which was not available in this environment. Rather than estimate, this section is omitted — see Sources and methodology. Buyers should pull the specific rate for their building via Mollak or the Dubai REST app before exchanging contracts.
Transport and parking
Dubai Studio City sits off Al Qudra Road, with onward access to Hessa Street and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311), so a car is effectively required for daily life. The nearest Dubai Metro access is by bus connection, either north to the Red Line at Mall of the Emirates or west to the Route 2020 extension at Al Furjan — treat any listing that markets “metro access” as meaning a bus-plus-metro combination, not a station at the door. New apartment buildings such as Azizi Beach Oasis 2 and Ghaff Land Residence come with basement or podium parking allocated per unit, standard for this type of mid-rise development.
Schools and nurseries
There is no school operating inside Dubai Studio City itself. The closest option we could verify directly on KHDA’s own school directory is GEMS Metropole School – Motor City (UK curriculum, Foundation Stage to Year 13), about a two-minute drive north in Motor City. Its KHDA inspection record, read directly from web.khda.gov.ae, shows: 2023–2024 Good, 2022–2023 Good, and Acceptable in each of the four inspection cycles before that (2016–2020) — so it is a school that has moved from Acceptable to a consistent Good rating over its two most recent inspections, not a long-standing Outstanding or Very Good performer. We did not find a verified nursery inside Dubai Studio City; early-years options are concentrated in neighbouring Motor City and Dubai Production City rather than in this zone.
Amenities, healthcare and everyday services
On-site amenities reflect the zone’s working character: cafes, restaurants and fitness facilities serving the production and office workforce, plus Studio One Hotel for business travellers. Day-to-day retail and healthcare sit a short drive away rather than on the doorstep — Motor City’s First Avenue Mall (over 50 retail stores, around 15 F&B outlets) is the nearest significant shopping centre, and a Mediclinic clinic operates at City Centre Me’aisem in neighbouring Dubai Production City. New residential buildings add their own pools and gyms, but there isn’t yet a large-scale mall, hospital or school cluster inside the zone.
Lifestyle
Dining and retail
Food and retail options directly inside Dubai Studio City are limited and skew toward serving the media and business workforce — cafes and casual dining rather than a destination retail strip. For a proper shopping trip or wider choice of restaurants, residents typically head to First Avenue Mall in Motor City or further out to Mall of the Emirates. That’s one of the clearer trade-offs of buying here: proximity to a production hub, not retail and dining at your door.
Landmarks and things to do
The best-known nearby landmark is the Dubai Autodrome in Motor City, roughly a five-minute drive away, an FIA-sanctioned circuit used for motorsport events and karting. Dubai Miracle Garden and Dubai Butterfly Garden, both in neighbouring Al Barsha South, are also within easy reach. Within the zone itself, the “landmarks” are functional rather than leisure-oriented — sound stages, backlots and production facilities used for film, TV and advertising shoots, which is the point of the district.
Outdoor space
Dubai Studio City was not master-planned around parks and public green space the way purely residential communities were. What outdoor amenity exists is mostly building-level — pool decks and landscaped courtyards within projects like Azizi Beach Oasis 2 and Ghaff Land Residence — rather than a community-wide park network. Buyers wanting more green, walkable outdoor space within a short drive should look at Motor City, which has more established landscaping.
Honest downsides — what to know before you commit
This is a genuinely business-first district that has recently started accepting residential towers, not a residential community that happens to have some offices. That has real consequences: thin retail and dining on-site, no metro station, no school or nursery inside the zone, no completed secondary apartment market to compare a purchase against, and a resident population still small relative to the size of the zone. Off-plan buyers are also taking on standard construction and handover-timing risk, since neither live project here is delivered yet. None of that makes it a bad purchase — proximity to Motor City and Dubai Production City amenities, plus entry prices below more established freehold areas, can be a reasonable trade for the right buyer — but it is not yet a mature, self-contained residential neighbourhood, and it shouldn’t be marketed as one.
Location
How Dubai Studio City compares to Dubai Production City and Motor City
Dubai Production City (formerly International Media Production Zone) is a separate, adjacent TECOM free zone with a broader, more established mix of residential apartment buildings, retail and everyday services alongside its media-production tenants — it reads as more of a lived-in mixed community. Motor City, immediately north, is the most residential of the three: villas, townhouses and apartments built around the Dubai Autodrome and First Avenue Mall, with a longer-established population. Dubai Studio City sits between the two in character but is currently the least residential — still primarily a working production and business-park district with a small, newly built apartment layer on top. Weigh that maturity gap, not just price per square foot, when comparing the three.
Getting to and from Dubai Studio City
By car, Al Qudra Road and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road (E311) connect Dubai Studio City to Dubai Marina and JBR in roughly 20–25 minutes and to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay in around 25–30 minutes outside peak traffic. There is no metro station in the zone; the practical public-transport route is a feeder bus to the Red Line, either at Mall of the Emirates or Al Furjan (Route 2020) — a real consideration for anyone commuting without a car.
Is Dubai Studio City a good investment?
Bayut’s own ROI estimate for Dubai Studio City apartments is genuinely strong — 6.40%–8.17% depending on size, a listings-and-search-based estimate rather than a DLD-confirmed transaction yield, but a real, positive data point. Entry prices (studios from around AED 653,000) sit below many established freehold communities closer to the metro or coast, which can appeal to investors prioritising a lower ticket size. The zone’s core identity remains business and production rather than housing, and residential stock is thinner than in a dedicated masterplan community, so treat this as a smaller, more niche residential market than its yield figures alone might suggest — compare against Fidu’s other off-plan listings before committing capital.
FAQs about Dubai Studio City
Is Dubai Studio City the same as Dubai Production City or IMPZ?
No. They are separate, adjacent TECOM Group free zones. Dubai Studio City is focused on broadcasting and film-production facilities with a small, recent residential layer; Dubai Production City (formerly International Media Production Zone) is a broader, more established mixed residential and media district. Don’t rely on the similar naming — check the specific project location before you buy.
Can foreigners buy freehold property in Dubai Studio City?
Developers here market units to non-UAE nationals on a freehold basis, consistent with Dubailand’s general ownership framework, though Fidu could not trace the specific government instrument that added this zone to the original 2006 freehold list. Confirm the ownership structure on the title deed for any unit you’re considering.
Is there a metro station in Dubai Studio City?
No. The nearest Dubai Metro access is by bus to Mall of the Emirates (Red Line) or Al Furjan (Route 2020); there is no station inside the zone.
What does an apartment cost in Dubai Studio City?
Bayut’s listings-based average is around AED 653,000 for a studio or AED 1,545,000 for a 2-bed to buy, and roughly AED 49,000–104,000 a year to rent — asking prices from live listings, not confirmed DLD transactions.
Are there schools inside Dubai Studio City?
No verified school operates inside the zone. The nearest KHDA-rated option is GEMS Metropole School – Motor City (rated Good in 2023–2024), a short drive north.
Does Dubai Studio City qualify for the Golden Visa?
The same federal rule applies everywhere: a property (or combined properties) valued at AED 2,000,000 or more at the DLD can support a Golden Visa application, subject to standard eligibility criteria.
How it compares
Dubai Production Citybroader, more established mix, reads as more lived-in
Motor Citymost residential of the three, longer-established population
Sources and methodology
Sales, rental and ROI figures are drawn from Bayut’s Dubai Studio City area guide, based on live listings and user searches over the trailing 12 months. Fidu could not verify a current, named, dated service-charge figure against a government or Mollak source; that section is omitted rather than estimated, per Fidu’s standing rule that a missing section is preferable to an invented number.
- Sales, rental and ROI figures: Bayut’s Dubai Studio City area guide, based on live listings and user searches over the trailing 12 months, accessed 13 Aug 2026 — bayut.com/area-guides/dubai-studio-city.
- Freehold framework: Regulation No. 3 of 2006, Dubai Land & Property Department — dlp.dubai.gov.ae (checked directly; Dubai Studio City is not named in the original designated-areas list, so its freehold status is described cautiously above).
- Golden Visa threshold: AED 2,000,000 DLD property valuation threshold, the standard federal criterion.
- Schools: KHDA’s own Education Directory and published DSIB inspection history for GEMS Metropole School – Motor City, read directly at web.khda.gov.ae, accessed 13 Aug 2026.
- Service charges: Dubai Land Department Service Charge Index / Mollak, dubailand.gov.ae — confirmed the lookup tool requires an authenticated account and does not expose project-level rates publicly, which is why this figure is omitted rather than estimated.
- Area, masterplan and facilities: Dubai Studio City’s own site, dubaistudiocity.ae, for zone purpose, facilities and TECOM Group relationship.
- Project facts (Azizi Beach Oasis 2, Ghaff Land Residence): developer and market listing pages, used only for non-price facts such as unit mix, storeys and indicative handover dates, cross-checked across more than one listing source and phrased as indicative rather than confirmed against a government record.
Where a figure could not be tied to one of these named, dated sources, it is described qualitatively rather than estimated.
Properties for sale in Dubai Studio City
2 properties found
Discover More
2 Bed
3 Bath
1038 sq-ft
Large Balcony | Flexible Payment Plan | Near Metro
AED 1,652,000
2 Bed
3 Bath
1038 sq-ft
Azizi Beach Oasis 2, Dubai Studio City, Dubai
Listing by
Nazish Khan
Discover More
1 Bed
2 Bath
660 sq-ft
Spacious | Flexible Payment Plan | Metro Access
AED 1,068,000
1 Bed
2 Bath
660 sq-ft
Azizi Beach Oasis 2, Dubai Studio City, Dubai
Listing by
Nazish Khan
Areas nearby
Sources and method. Figures are indicative and dated at publication. Tenure: the specific dated instrument adding it to the freehold list could not be traced · Property types: (studio-2bed, off-plan towers) · Gross rental yield: (Bayut area-guide ROI, listings/search-based) · Handover: Azizi Beach Oasis 2 (Q2 2026), Ghaff Land Residence (Dec 2027)
Thinking about Dubai Studio City?Talk to an advisor who actually works this district — not a call centre.Request a callback →
