The tax position is real but oversold
There is no property income tax and no capital gains tax on residential property held by individuals. That is genuinely unusual and it does change the arithmetic on a hold.
It is not, however, why institutional money arrives. Tax advantages can be legislated away; the structural reasons capital stays are harder to reverse.
Tax advantages can be legislated away. A pegged currency and a clean title register are harder to reverse.
Currency and settlement
The dirham has been pegged to the dollar since 1997. For a dollar-denominated investor, that removes the currency risk that makes most emerging-market property difficult to underwrite.
Title transfers at the land department settle in days rather than months, against a register that is straightforward to search. For buyers used to jurisdictions where conveyancing runs to a quarter, this is frequently the detail that decides the allocation.
What to watch instead
Service charges vary widely between buildings and are the most common source of a disappointing net yield. They are disclosed, but they are rarely modelled properly before purchase.
The second is the escrow position on off-plan purchases. The protections are strong, but they only apply where the project is properly registered.
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