01
Buy
Many of our clients split their year between several addresses, and they are who Dubai and Saint-Barthélemy are for. In the gulf, we visit every property before you do and tell you plainly what it is worth.
Learn moreOur clients do not live in one place. Many split their year between the peninsula and Dubai, and had been asking us to follow them. Tardieu Dubai will open in answer to that, working exactly as we have in Saint-Tropez since 1967: few mandates, handled directly, discreetly.
The office opens in 2027; the properties we hold under mandate today are in the gulf of Saint-Tropez. If this market interests you, register and you will hear first, ahead of any public announcement.
The districts
Where the market trades
Four districts carried most of the value transacted in the first half of 2025. These are registered amounts, not a ranking of desirability: they say where the money moves, and nothing more.
- 01Dubai MarinaAED 25.1bn
- 02Business BayAED 22.5bn
- 03Burj KhalifaAED 17.1bn
- 04Palm JumeirahAED 16.96bn
Foreign ownership in Dubai is twenty years old. It is younger than most of the mandates we handle.
Regulation No. 3 of 2006
The market, at the land registry
These are the totals published by the Dubai Land Department, the emirate's land registry, not portal estimates. We do not sell in Dubai yet: what follows is published research, not an offer.
| Year | Value (AED bn) | Transactions |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 300 | 84,196 |
| 2022 | 528 | 122,658 |
| 2023 | 634 | 166,400 |
| 2024 | 761 | 226,000 |
| 2025 | 917 | 270,000 |
Dubai Land Department2021–2025
Value and count of all registered real estate transactions, sales included. The 2021 and 2022 totals are those published to the dirham and to the unit; 2023, 2024 and 2025 are the rounded figures the registry released. Value transacted has tripled in four years on a transaction count that has more than tripled: in Dubai, unlike the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, the rise is happening in a market that is widening.
What twenty years changed
A foreigner has only been able to own in Dubai since 2006, and only in areas the emirate designates one by one. Everything else follows from that date.
2006foreign ownership permittedin the areas the regulation designates
AED 917 billion transacted in 2025, three times the 2021 figure.
Dubai Land Department, 2021–2025
What a foreign buyer can actually hold
Freehold is open to non-nationals only in designated areas: Dubai Marina, Downtown, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and some sixty others. Elsewhere a purchase takes the form of a lease or a usufruct, for up to ninety-nine years.
- Freehold
- Regulation No. 3 of 2006, in designated areas only
- Outside designated areas
- Lease or usufruct, up to 99 years
- Register
- Dubai Land Department; title is verified before the offer
The map of designated areas has been widened several times since 2006, and it is the register that settles it, not the listing. Checking a plot's status before the offer is the same precaution here as a buildability check in the gulf.
What buying costs
Acquisition costs sit almost entirely in one line: the land registry's transfer fee, 4% of the price. The regulation splits it between seller and buyer at 2% each; local practice usually puts the whole of it on the buyer, and that is negotiable.
- Transfer fee
- 4% of price, Dubai Land Department
- Annual property tax
- None
- Municipal charge
- 5% of annual rental value, with the DEWA bill
- Capital gains
- Not taxed in the UAE for an individual; tax in the country of residence still applies
There is no annual property tax and no capital gains tax for an individual. A municipal charge of 5% of the annual rental value does apply, collected with the water and electricity bill, which a good many buyers discover afterwards.
Residency, and its limits
A property held from two million dirhams carries entitlement to a ten-year renewable residence permit covering spouse and children. The threshold is read from the acquisition price on the title, not from a current market valuation.
- Threshold
- AED 2,000,000 acquisition value
- Term
- 10 years, renewable
- Covered
- Spouse and children
A residence permit is not tax residency, and the second does not follow from the first. That is the most common confusion, and it is settled with tax advice in the country of departure, before the purchase.
Six hours fifty from the gulf
The Gulf of Saint-Tropez's airport is Nice, and Nice connects to Dubai non-stop, daily, in six hours fifty. It is the only direct link from the coast, and it explains part of what our clients have been asking us for years.
- Nice, non-stop
- 6 h 50 min, daily
- 2025 traffic
- 95.2 million passengers
- Network
- 291 destinations, 110 countries
At the other end, the world's busiest airport for international traffic: ninety-five million passengers in 2025, two hundred and ninety-one destinations. A property in Dubai can be reached from almost anywhere, which is not true of a house on the peninsula.
The book
The book opens with the office
The properties we hold under mandate today are in the gulf of Saint-Tropez. Tell us what you are looking for in Dubai and you will hear first, ahead of any public announcement.
The philosophy
A house you can find. A place you have to learn.
Understanding the whole plan, and first of all what matters most to you.
A network of buyers woven since 1967, which opens the door to rare properties.
Recognising the right house, and staying with you for as long as it takes to find it.
The guidance
The same person with you,
from the first call to signature.
Far beyond a simple property transaction, people are at the heart of what we do.
02
Value
Four calculation methods cross-checked, a visit in person, a written and reasoned valuation. It is free, and it stays yours even if you decide not to sell.
Learn more
03
Sell
You decide how your property is shown, and we stay with you at every stage: valuation, legal, financial, through to signature, alongside partners we trust.
Learn more
Our history
A global network, a local soul.
Tardieu Immobilier was founded in Saint-Tropez in 1967, when the village was still a fishing port the world had only just begun to look at. The agency has not changed its address, its territory, or its family.
It is usually assumed that carrying an international clientele takes a large group. Ours was woven here instead, one transaction at a time, over nearly sixty years: it now spans three generations of buyers. Our clients get a dual expertise from it: an intimate knowledge of the gulf, and access to that network.
Read the agency’s story
Frequently asked questions
Does Tardieu already sell property in Dubai?
No. We are preparing to open in 2027 and as of today we have no office, no team and no mandate there. This page is a reading of the market, and nothing else. You can leave your address to be told the day that changes.
Can a foreigner buy in Dubai?
Yes, in freehold, but only in the areas designated by Regulation No. 3 of 2006: Dubai Marina, Downtown, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and some sixty others. Outside those areas a purchase takes the form of a lease or usufruct of up to ninety-nine years.
Is there an annual property tax in Dubai?
No, and there is no capital gains tax for an individual in the UAE either. A municipal charge of 5% of the annual rental value does apply, collected with the water and electricity bill. Tax owed in your country of residence remains fully owed.
Does buying grant residency?
From an acquisition value of two million dirhams, yes: a ten-year renewable permit covering spouse and children. It is not tax residency, which follows other rules and is handled with an adviser in your country of departure.
How long is the flight from the gulf?
Six hours fifty from Nice, non-stop and daily. Nice is the reference airport for the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, about an hour and a half by road from the village.
Why is the Dubai market rising so fast?
Amounts registered at the land registry tripled between 2021 and 2025, from AED 300 billion to AED 917 billion, on a transaction count that more than tripled. That is a difference in kind from the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, where prices rise in a market that sells less: here the rise is happening in a market that is widening.
Our guides
The 2027 investment guide
Gulf of Saint-Tropez, Dubai and Saint-Barthélemy: prices, taxation and sought-after neighbourhoods. The gulf edition is available now; the other two appear with the openings.
- Price per m² and 2027 trends
- Taxation, rental yield and legal framework
- Sought-after neighbourhoods & off-market opportunities
No commitment. Unsubscribe in one click.
The Journal
Market, heritage and art de vivre
Pampelonne beach: the rebirth of a myth
A symbol of nature caught between dunes and sea, casting its spell over every visitor, it has, in spite of itself, undergone a great many changes of late.
Read more
La Grande Maison des Campaux
Five minutes from Bormes-les-Mimosas and thirty from Saint-Tropez, in the heart of the Massif des Maures, stands La Grande Maison des Campaux. An elegant hideaway, that of the Naveau family, with nature for its only neighbour. A secret address where one likes to make memories, as in one’s own holiday house.Five large bedrooms and…
Read more
Valuation & appraisal
In the dynamic world of property, an accurate valuation is essential to the success of a transaction. Our commitment to conducting that valuation professionally is at the heart of our mission. We are convinced that this crucial stage, which seeks to satisfy buyer and seller alike, can genuinely make the difference and often…
Read more
Interview with Bruno Roland, Mayor of Ramatuelle
You are entering your fourth term of office in the middle of a pandemic. How are you approaching this period? Bruno Roland: The ecological transition is at the heart of this term. We are approaching it with energy, thanks to a younger municipal team and a determination to commit our commune to an approach resolutely turned towards innovation in response to the challenges of the twenty-first…
Read more
Interview with Sylvie Siri, Mayor of Saint-Tropez
You are the first woman elected Mayor of Saint-Tropez. How was your election received by the Tropeziens? Sylvie Siri: My election appears to have been very favourably received. I sense a strong expectation around me, and that is a great motivation for me and for the municipal team I have the honour of leading. Many…
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The PLU explained
What is a PLU for? For residents: The PLU determines the building rules against which permis de construire and works declarations are assessed. It fixes the location of future roads and major public facilities, and establishes protections (natural environment, built heritage). For the commune: The PLU sets out the intended…
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The history of the agency
1967. René Tardieu, a Tropezien who has since become one of the pillars of a fishing village then only at the beginning of a meteoric rise, sets out to conquer the property business. In his brother’s commercial premises adjoining the pharmacy on the port, he installs the offices of “L’Agence du Port” in winter, and moves out each summer to wherever prices…
Read moreExplore
Where would you like to begin?
Saint-Tropez
Twelve villages, each its own market, and nearly sixty years of sales watched street by street.
12 villages
Dubai
Our clients already spend part of their year there. We are opening to follow them, not to add an address.
St-Barth
A small territory, a season that runs against ours, and a market that moves between people who know one another.
Hear about it before we open.
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