When can you afford the deposit? Move the sliders to see how long it takes to save your target down payment from what you have now plus a steady monthly contribution.
Size the target deposit from the property price and your loan-to-value — typically 20% for a first home, plus the 4% DLD fee and other purchase costs you also pay up front.
3 yrs 2 mo
38 months to reach AED 400,000
Indicative only, assuming a steady monthly saving and a flat savings rate. Property prices and deposit requirements move too — revisit the target as you get closer.
The calculator runs your starting savings forward month by month, adding your monthly contribution and any savings interest, until the balance reaches the target deposit. The result is the number of months — and years — until you can put the deposit down.
The total you pay in yourself over the period, separate from your starting balance and any interest. It shows how much of the deposit comes from disciplined monthly saving versus money you already hold.
If you park the savings somewhere that pays interest, the balance compounds monthly and you reach the goal sooner. The interest figure is the part of the final deposit that the savings rate contributed rather than your own contributions.
A Dubai deposit is more than the headline 20% loan-to-value. You also pay the 4% DLD transfer fee, agency and mortgage-registration fees and other costs up front — so the cash you need to save is meaningfully above 20% of the price.
Property prices drift, and the deposit you need drifts with them. If prices rise faster than you save, the goalpost moves away — revisit the target periodically rather than treating today's figure as fixed.
How much you save each month matters far more than the savings rate at these horizons. If the timeline is too long, raising the monthly contribution shortens it much faster than chasing a higher interest rate.