01 — Luxury Estate Development
The Meridian
Dubai Harbour · Dubai
Two sculpted towers joined by a 60-metre sky bridge containing the residents' club, pool deck and observatory.
Construction verified Q4 2027
34%
Buildings that do not exist yet
Off-plan is the only part of this market where the buyer takes real risk. We publish verified construction progress, escrow status and the developer's delivery record — including the projects that slipped.
Escrow verified
Every payment routed through a regulated escrow account.
Site visited monthly
Our own team photographs progress — not the developer's.
Delivery record published
Including the two projects that handed over late.
Independent valuation
Commissioned before we agree to represent a launch.
02 — Ellington-tier partner
Aria Gardens
Al Barari · Dubai
Thirty-four garden villas set within eleven acres of mature planting, each with a private lap pool and courtyard.
Construction verified Q2 2027
58%
03 — Halcyon Group
Obsidian Quarter
Hudson Yards · New York
A blackened-steel and bronze tower with double-height corner residences and a private members' floor.
Construction verified Q1 2028
21%
04 — Ashmore Estates
Thames Crescent
Nine Elms · London
A curved brick and bronze crescent facing the river, with a linear park running its full length.
Construction verified Q3 2026
76%
How off-plan works
Five stages, no surprises
A typical structure. Individual developers vary and we will always show you the actual schedule before you reserve.
01
Reservation
5%
Unit taken off the market. Fully refundable for 14 days.
02
Contract
15%
Sale and purchase agreement executed, escrow opened.
03
Construction
40%
Paid in tranches against verified milestones.
04
Completion
30%
Due at practical completion and snagging sign-off.
05
Handover
10%
Released on key handover and title registration.
Questions we are actually asked
Off-plan, candidly
Your payments sit in a regulated escrow account and are released against certified construction milestones, not to the developer directly. In the event of cancellation the escrow balance is returned. This does not protect you against delay — only against loss of principal.
Usually, once a threshold of the price is paid — commonly 30–40%. The developer charges a transfer fee. We will tell you the exact threshold and fee for any project before you reserve.
Rarely, in the details. Ceiling heights, window proportions and terrace depths are dimensioned in the drawings and those are contractual. Furniture, planting and sky are not. We work from drawings.
Across the four projects on this page the mean delay against original handover was 4.5 months. We publish this figure because the industry average is closer to nine and nobody prints it.
No. Purchases can be completed under power of attorney with remote identity verification. Two of our largest transactions last year were completed without the buyer visiting.