This case study looks at one of the first residential projects launched in Emaar's central waterfront neighborhood. It follows almost a decade of real market activity: launch, construction period, handover and several years of resale transactions. For Israeli investors, this is a chance to examine not what the project might become in the future, but what actually happened in it.
Background on the Creek Gate Project
Creek Gate is located on Creek Island in Al Khairan First, within Dubai Creek Harbour. This is an Emaar waterfront neighborhood covering about six square kilometers, built around the future site of Dubai Creek Tower. The project has two towers: Creek Gate Tower 1, with 30 floors, and Creek Gate Tower 2, with 36 floors. The project company, The Lagoons Phase One, delivered apartments there ranging from one to four bedrooms, with fitted kitchens and bathrooms.
Construction began in March 2017, shortly after the project's launch, and Creek Gate was among the first residential projects in the wider Dubai Creek Harbour development. At that time, Gulf News reported that prices in earlier Emaar projects in the area started at around AED 1,800 per square foot, and even higher. This figure provides reasonable context for Creek Gate's launch price, but Dubai Index was unable to verify an exact per-square-foot launch price against DLD's historical records.
Price Development at Creek Gate from Launch to Today
According to real estate websites, the original price of a one-bedroom apartment at Creek Gate started at about AED 1,150,000–1,250,000 at launch. This is data published on websites, not verified DLD transaction records, so it should be treated as an estimate of the entry price rather than an exact reference point.
Secondary-market data is better documented. Completed transactions at Creek Gate appear in DLD records, as presented on Propsearch.ae:
| Metric | At Launch in 2017, Estimate from Real Estate Websites | Recent Resale Transaction per DLD | Dubai Creek Harbour Average in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom apartment price | About AED 1,150,000–1,250,000 | AED 1,416,000–1,770,000, for 720 sq ft | About AED 1,900,000 |
| Price per sq ft | About AED 1,600–1,735, per estimate | About AED 1,967–2,458 | About AED 2,400–2,500 |
| Two-bedroom apartment price | Not independently verified | AED 2,000,000, for 1,115 sq ft | About AED 2,900,000 |
In plain terms, a one-bedroom apartment whose estimated launch price was in the middle of the AED 1 million range has since sold on the secondary market for about AED 1.4–1.8 million. This is a significant increase, but the price is still below the average in the newer buildings in Dubai Creek Harbour. Buyers should pay attention to the gap. Creek Gate, as one of the neighborhood's early towers, is now trading at a discount compared with new supply. This can be seen as potential for the gap to close, or interpreted as a permanent discount given to older properties compared with a new product. Dubai Index does not decide between the two possibilities.
Rental Yield
Yield data by number of bedrooms, calculated from DLD transactions in the wider Dubai Creek Harbour and Al Khairan First area and presented on UAECalc, points to the following:
One-bedroom apartment: a gross yield of about 5.3% and an average rent of about AED 99,000 per year.
Two-bedroom apartment: a gross yield of about 5.5% and an average rent of about AED 151,000 per year.
Three-bedroom apartment: a gross yield of about 5.6% and an average rent of about AED 219,000 per year.
Other 2025 sources show a slightly higher range for the smaller apartments in the area, 6% to 7% gross. Dubai Index prefers to use the conservative DLD-based range, 5.3% to 5.6%, as a more reliable estimate for Creek Gate. It is an older, completed building, not one of the new waterfront towers that push up the upper end of the range.
Handover and Meeting Deadlines
Delivery history is the best-documented part of the project. According to information published by the Land Department:
Construction start: March 2017
Estimated completion date: Q3 2020
Actual completion date: November 2021
This is a delay of about 14 months compared with the original handover date. It is a significant delay, and delays of a year or more have also been recorded in other Emaar projects at Dubai Creek Harbour, though no full cancellations were documented. For an Israeli investor assessing the risk of buying off-plan, Creek Gate is a real, documented example of an Emaar delay: the project was not delivered on time, but it was completed and handed over.
Project Scorecard
| Category | Score out of 10 | Basis for Score |
|---|---|---|
| Location | 9 | Waterfront location on Creek Island, near Creek Beach and Island Park, within Emaar's central Creek Harbour masterplan |
| Developer | 9 | Emaar Properties is one of Dubai's most established developers, and no cancelled Emaar projects at Creek Harbour have been documented |
| Project concept | 7 | Two residential towers with a simple, efficient design, but without a standout feature compared with the newer projects at Creek Harbour |
| Price | 7 | The price today is below the Creek Harbour average and offers relative value compared with the newer towers |
| Rental potential | 6 | Gross yield of about 5.3% to 5.6% based on DLD data; stable, but not among the highest in the area |
| Appreciation potential | 7 | Secondary-market prices show a real increase since the 2017 launch, but the newer towers have risen faster in recent cycles |
| Liquidity | 7 | The project is completed and occupied, and the secondary market documents many transactions in one- and two-bedroom apartments |
Bottom line: Creek Gate suits investors looking for an older, occupied Emaar property at a relatively low price compared with the new towers in Dubai Creek Harbour. It offers a stable yield of about 5% to 6% and documented appreciation over time, rather than a speculative off-plan investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Creek Gate been fully delivered? Yes. Construction was completed in November 2021, after the original completion date was set for Q3 2020.
What rental yield can be expected from an apartment at Creek Gate? According to DLD-based data for the wider Creek Harbour area, the gross yield is about 5.3% for a one-bedroom apartment and about 5.5% for a two-bedroom apartment. The actual result varies by view, floor and level of furnishing.
How much has Creek Gate's value risen since launch? A comparison of real estate website price estimates at launch with resale transactions recorded at DLD points to a significant increase in one-bedroom apartments. However, Dubai Index did not verify an exact 2017 per-square-foot launch price against DLD's historical archive.
Can a purchase at Creek Gate meet the UAE Golden Visa investment threshold? Secondary-market prices of larger apartments in the project may meet the real estate investment route, whose threshold is AED 2 million. Eligibility depends on the price of the specific apartment and on DLD's current rules. Check the latest requirements before relying on the purchase for visa planning.
Is Creek Gate especially suited to Israeli investors? Those who prefer a completed property with a real history over the risk of an off-plan purchase will find a documented delivery history and secondary-market liquidity in the project. For a first-time buyer from abroad, this data may matter more than the highest advertised yield in the area.
Key Takeaway
Creek Gate is not the highest-yielding address or the fastest-appreciating one in Dubai Creek Harbour today. Still, it is one of the few projects in the neighborhood where a full, documented cycle can be examined: launch, a handover that was delayed but completed, and several years of secondary-market transactions. For Israeli investors who want to see how an Emaar waterfront project performs in practice, and not only how it is presented in forecasts, it is a useful reference point. It is worth continuing to track the price gap between it and the new towers in Creek Harbour.
Considering a similar purchase in the Dubai Creek Harbour waterfront area? The Dubai Index team can show you the resale properties currently available at Creek Gate and compare them with newer options in the area. You can reach us on WhatsApp.
Sources
Dubai Creek Gate on Propsearch.ae
Dubai Creek Harbour Yield for 2026 on UAECalc
Property: First off-plan launch of 2017 from Emaar on Gulf News
Further Reading
Emaar Properties developer profile
Dubai Creek Harbour area guide
Guide to getting the UAE Golden Visa through real estate investment
