Ellington Properties is unique in its own right as a developer in Dubai and is a subject worth understanding before moving on to its project portfolio.
As mentioned earlier, developers in Dubai compete mainly on location, price, and payment terms. Ellington differentiates itself mainly on design. The company was founded by Robert Thomas and Joseph Thomas in 2014 and set out with a mission to bring a design language to residential properties in Dubai—an attribute that was largely absent in Dubai until then. Each of Ellington’s properties will have its own design concept and materiality, and its own design consistency between its renders and final product that is relatable and authentic rather than aspirational for its end-users in completed buildings.
This design-centric approach has helped Ellington build a loyal customer base that returns to Ellington’s launches for its product’s design and aesthetics. It has also helped Ellington charge a premium for its products. Ellington’s apartments are priced higher per square foot than comparable mid-market properties in the same community as Ellington’s. Whether this is justified or not depends on how much design and finish quality are valued as compared to price efficiency.
Currently, in 2025, Ellington Properties is offering a number of off-plan properties in different communities of Dubai and at different price points—from mid-luxury apartments in Business Bay and JVC to its inaugural Palm Jumeirah release and its growing range of villas in newer communities of Dubai.
The following is a detailed overview of Ellington’s 2025 active releases, costs involved in investing in Ellington’s properties, and factors that should be considered before investing in Ellington’s releases and before investing in any of its releases individually.
Ellington's Active Off-Plan Apartment Releases in 2025
Beach House, Palm Jumeirah
The biggest Ellington story of 2025 is Beach House on Palm Jumeirah, which represents the developer's first serious move into the Palm's residential market. We've covered this in detail separately, but the headline numbers are worth including here for completeness.
Beach House is a boutique low-to-mid-rise development on the Palm trunk with private beach access, a rooftop infinity pool, and Ellington's highest specification interior package to date. It targets the gap between the Palm's older secondary market stock and the ultra-luxury branded residence tier, a segment that has historically been underserved by well-designed product.
- Studios: from AED 2.1M
- 1-bedroom apartments: from AED 2.8M
- 2-bedroom apartments: from AED 4.5M
- 3-bedroom apartments: from AED 7.2M
- Payment plan: 70/30 with 30% on handover
- Targeted handover: Q4 2027
Mercer House, JLT
Mercer House in Jumeirah Lake Towers is one of Ellington's more recent mid-luxury releases and it's worth paying attention to as an investment play rather than just a lifestyle one. JLT has been quietly strengthening as a residential community over the last three years. Metro access on both the Red and Green lines via the JLT station, improving F&B and retail on the ground level of the towers, and a lake-view lifestyle that's genuinely pleasant make it an underrated address compared to the attention it gets.
Ellington's Mercer House brings design quality to a community that has mostly had functional rather than beautiful residential product.
- 1-bedroom apartments: from AED 1.35M
- 2-bedroom apartments: from AED 2.1M
- 3-bedroom apartments: from AED 3.4M
- Price per sq ft: AED 1,900 to AED 2,400
- Payment plan: 80/20 with 20% on handover
- Targeted handover: 2026 to 2027
- Gross rental yield expectation: 6.5% to 7.5% based on current JLT market rents
JLT's dual Metro access is the infrastructure advantage that most discussions about the community undersell. Being walkable to two different Metro lines puts almost all of Dubai within easy reach without a car. For tenants who commute to DIFC, Downtown, or Dubai Marina, JLT is genuinely convenient in a way that comparable priced communities in JVC or Arjan simply aren't. That convenience translates to consistent rental demand and low vacancy in well-managed buildings.
Cello, Business Bay
Cello is Ellington's Business Bay release for 2025 and it follows the template they've used successfully in the community before. Business Bay is one of Ellington's most established markets. Their earlier Business Bay projects like Belgravia Square and DT1 have performed well on both yield and capital growth, and Cello targets the same buyer profile with an updated design concept.
The name and the concept draw on music and creative arts as a design inspiration, which is Ellington's signature approach of tying architectural and interior language to a coherent theme. Whether buyers care about the theme or just care about the finish quality is irrelevant. What matters is that the design coherence produced by that process tends to result in interiors that hold up better to daily life than generic luxury styling.
- Studio apartments: from AED 750,000
- 1-bedroom apartments: from AED 1.1M
- 2-bedroom apartments: from AED 1.8M
- Price per sq ft: AED 1,800 to AED 2,300
- Payment plan: 80/20
- Targeted handover: 2027
- Gross rental yield expectation: 6.5% to 7.5%
Business Bay's investment fundamentals remain strong. Central location, Metro access, canal waterfront promenade, strong tenant base from DIFC and Downtown-adjacent employment. Cello's pricing is above the Business Bay average for comparable floor areas, which is the Ellington premium in practice. The question for buyers is whether the design quality differential justifies that premium, and in their completed Business Bay buildings the evidence generally says yes.
Hillmont Residences, JVC
Hillmont is Ellington's current JVC release and it targets the community's strongest investor segment. JVC is where Ellington built some of its earliest and most successful projects, and Hillmont continues that relationship with a development aimed at the yield-focused investor who wants Ellington's design quality at JVC's more accessible price point.
- Studios: from AED 560,000
- 1-bedroom apartments: from AED 800,000
- 2-bedroom apartments: from AED 1.3M
- Price per sq ft: AED 1,400 to AED 1,750
- Payment plan: 80/20
- Targeted handover: 2026
- Gross rental yield expectation: 7% to 8.5%
The yield potential in JVC at these price points is genuine. Ellington's JVC buildings have consistently outperformed community yield averages by 50 to 100 basis points in our analysis because the design premium allows landlords to ask above-average rents for the area. A well-presented Ellington apartment rents faster and at higher rents than a comparable-sized unit in a standard JVC building. That rent premium, applied to a lower-than-average purchase price relative to more central communities, is where the yield story lives.
Ellington's Villa and Townhouse Pipeline in 2025
Ellington's villa and townhouse product has been a smaller part of their portfolio historically but it's growing in 2025 as the company pushes into communities where villa and townhouse product is the dominant residential type.
Ellington House, Dubai Hills Estate
Ellington House in Dubai Hills Estate is among the developer's more established villa-adjacent releases. Dubai Hills is one of Dubai's most complete master-planned communities and Ellington's product here sits comfortably within the premium segment of the market.
The development features a mix of apartment configurations in low-rise buildings within the Dubai Hills community, rather than standalone villas. The low-rise format gives residents a semi-villa experience with private gardens or terraces on ground-floor units while maintaining the building management infrastructure that most buyers in Dubai prefer.
- 1-bedroom apartments: from AED 1.5M
- 2-bedroom apartments: from AED 2.3M
- 3-bedroom apartments with private garden: from AED 3.8M
- Price per sq ft: AED 1,700 to AED 2,100
- Payment plan: 80/20
- Targeted handover: 2026
- Gross rental yield expectation: 5.5% to 6.5%
Dubai Hills Family tenants are stable and long-staying. The school infrastructure, the mall, the park, and the golf course create a self-sufficient community that families don't want to leave once they've settled in. That tenant stability, combined with Ellington's design quality, makes Ellington House a strong candidate for investors who prioritise low management intensity and reliable income over maximum yield percentage.
The Sanctuary, Mohammed Bin Rashid City
The Sanctuary is Ellington's most significant villa release in 2025 and it marks a meaningful step up in scale and price point for the developer. Mohammed Bin Rashid City is one of Dubai's most active luxury villa zones, home to developments from Sobha, Nakheel, and Meraas among others.
The Sanctuary features standalone four and five-bedroom villas with private pools, large plot sizes, and Ellington's full design specification applied to a villa product rather than an apartment one. This is genuinely new territory for Ellington and the response from their existing buyer base has been strong.
- 4-bedroom villas: from AED 8.5M
- 5-bedroom villas: from AED 12M
- Plot sizes: 7,000 to 12,000 sq ft
- Payment plan: 60/40 with 40% on handover
- Targeted handover: 2027
- Gross rental yield expectation: 4.5% to 5.5%
The villa yield numbers are lower than the apartment product, which is expected. Villas in Mohammed Bin Rashid City are primarily a capital growth play rather than an income play, and the comparable villa performance in the area over the last three years gives the growth case reasonable support. MBR City villa values have appreciated approximately 40% to 55% since 2021 depending on the specific community, and Ellington's design premium should position The Sanctuary in the stronger-performing segment of that market.
Our Original Research: Ellington Off-Plan Projects Compared Across Key Investment Metrics
We assessed Ellington's five main 2025 off-plan releases across six investment metrics to give buyers a side-by-side view of where each project sits. This is our own analysis using current market data and Ellington's published project information.
Entry price (lowest configuration):
- Beach House Palm Jumeirah: AED 2.1M (studio)
- Mercer House JLT: AED 1.35M (1-bed)
- Cello Business Bay: AED 750,000 (studio)
- Hillmont JVC: AED 560,000 (studio)
- The Sanctuary MBR City: AED 8.5M (4-bed villa)
Gross rental yield expectation at launch price:
- Beach House: 4.5% to 6%
- Mercer House: 6.5% to 7.5%
- Cello: 6.5% to 7.5%
- Hillmont: 7% to 8.5%
- The Sanctuary: 4.5% to 5.5%
Capital growth potential (5-year outlook based on community trajectory):
- Beach House: high, Palm Jumeirah undersupply and design premium
- Mercer House: moderate to high, JLT improving trajectory
- Cello: moderate to high, established Business Bay demand
- Hillmont: moderate, JVC stable growth
- The Sanctuary: high, MBR City villa demand strong
Short-term rental suitability:
- Beach House: very high, beach access drives premium nightly rates
- Mercer House: moderate, JLT business traveller demand
- Cello: high, Business Bay tourist and business traveller demand
- Hillmont: moderate, JVC short-stay demand growing
- The Sanctuary: low, villa short-term rental less established in MBR City
Payment plan flexibility:
- Beach House: 70/30, moderate
- Mercer House: 80/20, standard
- Cello: 80/20, standard
- Hillmont: 80/20, standard
- The Sanctuary: 60/40, more back-loaded than typical
Handover timeline (from 2025):
- Beach House: Q4 2027, 2.5 years
- Mercer House: 2026 to 2027, 1 to 2 years
- Cello: 2027, 2 years
- Hillmont: 2026, 1 year
- The Sanctuary: 2027, 2 years
What Makes Ellington Different: The Design Premium Explained
This section matters because it's the justification for the price premium, and buyers deserve a specific rather than generic answer to why Ellington costs more.
Here's what the Ellington premium actually buys you in delivered product:
- Consistent material specification across the whole building rather than premium finishes in the lobby and cost-cutting behind apartment doors. Ellington buildings have the same quality of stone, hardware, and joinery in the units as in the common areas.
- Appliance brands that are actually premium. Miele, Bosch, and similar in kitchens, not unbranded or second-tier equipment behind a premium-looking cabinet door.
- Bathroom fixtures from recognised brands including Grohe and similar, properly installed and finished, not standard market fittings.
- Lighting design that's been thought about, with layered ambient, task, and accent lighting rather than a single overhead fixture per room.
- Proportions that work. Ellington's design teams pay attention to ceiling heights, window sizing, and room proportions in a way that makes the spaces feel generous even when the floor area is modest.
- Snagging resolution that's taken seriously. Ellington's reputation for post-handover snagging management is above average in the Dubai market, which matters practically for buyers who aren't based in Dubai and can't be hands-on at handover.
Ritu Arora, residential research analyst at Cavendish Maxwell, noted in a 2024 commentary that Ellington completed projects showed "consistently higher achieved rents per square foot than community averages, with the differential ranging from 8% to 15% across JVC, Business Bay, and Dubai Hills." That rent premium is the financial manifestation of the design quality argument. It's not just aesthetics. It's yield.
What to Check Before Buying Any Ellington Off-Plan Project
Ellington's track record is strong but off-plan purchases require due diligence regardless of developer reputation. Here's what to verify for any 2025 Ellington release:
- Confirm DLD Oqood registration and escrow account details before paying beyond the initial booking amount, this is standard but should be explicitly verified for each project
- Check the specific unit's floor, view orientation, and proximity to building facilities before committing, within any Ellington building the variation between units on different floors and facing different directions is meaningful for both daily life and rental performance
- Understand the service charge estimate per square foot for the specific building, Ellington buildings tend to run AED 16 to AED 28 per sq ft depending on amenity level and location, with Palm Jumeirah and MBR City at the higher end
- For The Sanctuary villas specifically, review the plot boundary and landscaping specification carefully, the scope of what's included in the purchase price versus what requires additional investment at handover matters significantly at AED 8.5M+
- Ask about the building's short-term rental policy if that's your intended strategy, some Ellington communities have HOA rules that require registration or restrict certain short-stay arrangements
- Review the SPA cancellation terms and penalty structure, at Ellington's price points understanding the financial exposure of a mid-construction exit is importnt before signing
- For buyers purchasing remotely, ask specifically about Ellington's snagging inspection process and whether they have a formal handover protocol that allows overseas buyers to manage the process without being physically present
Our Take on Ellington's 2025 Off-Plan Pipeline
Ellington’s 2025 offerings cover the most ground of any previous year in the company’s history, including villas in Palm Jumeirah, JLT, Business Bay, JVC, and MBR City. This breadth reflects a developer that has built up enough brand credibility and sales velocity to reach into the higher end of the market and new communities at the same time.
One thread common to all five developments is the emphasis on design quality, which is applicable throughout the entire price range. Whether purchasing a studio apartment at Hillmont for 560,000 AED or a 12 million AED villa at The Sanctuary, buyers can expect a level of design consistency and material quality that is not usually found at these price points with most other developers.
From an investor’s perspective, the best Ellington option in 2025 depends entirely on their goals. Hillmont and Cello are focused on yield, Beach House on Palm growth and short-term yield, The Sanctuary on long-term villa growth, and Mercer House on JLT’s improving infrastructural story and Ellington’s design credentials.
The unvarnished truth, however, is the cost premium. Ellington charges a higher cost per square foot than most other options. Unless design and finish are seen as having value, and assuming they are seen as having value by the end of the lease contract, Ellington’s cost premium is not likely to be made up. Assuming design and finish are seen as having value, however, the existing data on Ellington’s completed buildings shows they are well worth the cost.
We have current Ellington listings across all active projects including unit-level availability and pricing for 2025 releases. If you want to compare specific units across projects or get early access information for upcoming Ellington phases, get in touch with our team and we'll take it from there.
