Palm Jumeirah

The Palm is three markets on one island. The fronds hold villas with private beach frontage, the trunk carries the older Shoreline buildings and the Golden Mile, and the crescent is largely hotels and the newest luxury stock. Frond villas are the headline product, though the fronds sit close enough together that the view is often the back of the houses opposite rather than open water, and the original mid-2000s builds usually need a full renovation costed in before you bid. The trunk apartments are the entry point and the most honest value, but they are approaching twenty years old and maintenance records vary a great deal. The structural constraint is access: everything enters and leaves through one road at the trunk, and there is no second route when it backs up. Many owners are here only part of the year, so neighbours change and short-let activity is heavy in some buildings.