How to choose a real estate marketing agency in Dubai
Twelve questions to put to a Dubai property marketing agency in writing, from who files your Trakheesi permits to which of your rivals it already serves.
The short answer
Choose a Dubai real estate marketing agency on four answers: who files your Trakheesi permits, how a qualified lead is defined and reported, where your leads and ad accounts live, and which of your rivals it already serves. Ask in writing, and treat a vague or late reply as the answer. Portfolios come second to those four.
Before you look at anyone's portfolio, email four questions: who applies for your Trakheesi permits, how the agency defines a qualified lead, where your leads and ad accounts will live, and which of your direct rivals it already serves. An agency that answers vaguely, late or only by phone has told you most of what its pitch deck would.
Twelve questions, and what a bad answer sounds like
The first four decide whether the rest are worth asking. Score every answer 0 for bad, 1 for partial and 2 for specific and in writing, and drop anyone who scores 0 on any of the first four, whatever the total.
| Ask | Why it matters | A bad answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Who applies for each Trakheesi permit, who pays the fee, and how is an ad without its permit stopped? | As of November 2026 DLD's own page prices most permit types at AED 1,000 and a project launch event permit at AED 5,000 plus a small fee. A handling charge many times larger needs explaining, and for listed types the owner's marketing contract must be on file too. | 'The permit is a client matter', or a flat 'permit handling' fee with no breakdown. |
| 2. What counts as a qualified lead, and who marks it? | A qualified rate means nothing without its definition, and the people who take the calls should own it. | 'Anyone who completes the form.' |
| 3. Where do leads land, how fast do they reach a person, and who owns the data if we part? | Leads belong in your CRM, in your name. A platform the agency owns is a lock-in. | 'Our dashboard holds everything and we export on request.' |
| 4. Which other property clients do you run, and which direct rivals of mine will you refuse? | Rivals share buyers, launch dates and broker attention, and the agency holds the facts about both. | 'We keep clients confidential', with no rule behind it. |
| 5. What will I see every week? | Cost per qualified lead by source, and reply times. Leads, reach and clicks are inputs. | 'A dashboard link.' |
| 6. Who writes the Arabic, and is it written or translated? | Arabic translated from English reads as translated. Ours is written by native Arabic writers and never machine-translated. | 'We run the English through a translator.' |
| 7. Whose name are the ad accounts, pages and pixels in? | Accounts in the agency's name leave with the agency. | 'We run everything from our manager account.' |
| 8. How is ad spend paid? | Paying the platforms directly keeps spend visible and keeps the fee from growing with your budget. | 'You pay us, we pay the platforms, plus a service fee on the total.' |
| 9. If you use Performance Max, how do you control the landing page? | Google says Performance Max may replace your final URL with a more relevant landing page. In property, that page carries your price and your permit number. | 'Google picks the best page.' |
| 10. What are the minimum term and the notice period? | Ours are six months, then 60 days' notice. Whatever the number, you need it in writing, with the exit terms. | A 12-month renewal that rolls over unless you cancel inside a narrow window. |
| 11. What would make you tell me to stop spending? | A stop rule is a number, such as pausing a channel when cost per qualified lead stays above your ceiling for four weeks. | 'We'd keep optimising.' |
| 12. Can I see a redacted weekly report and permit register from a property account? | A case study tells you the outcome. A report shows what the agency measures and how honestly. | 'Everything is confidential', or a slide deck in place of a report. |
What should a permit register look like?
A permit register is a spreadsheet with one row per live ad: the property or project, the permit type and number, who applied, where the owner's marketing contract is filed, and the date someone last checked it. It costs nothing to keep, and it's the control that matters. DLD's October 2020 announcement put the starting fine for unpermitted advertising at AED 50,000, rising progressively, with licence cancellation possible. That statement is six years old, so ask DLD for today's penalties.
Ask who checks the register before a new ad goes live, because ads get reused. A banner from last month's campaign turns up on another channel, in a boosted post or in a WhatsApp broadcast, and it needs its permit wherever it appears. The Trakheesi permit guide covers the process, and the Trakheesi entry defines the system.
If a permit isn't ready, the launch date moves. An agency that offers to run the ads and sort the permit later is showing you how it will treat the next rule. This isn't legal advice, and which permit type each ad needs is for DLD to decide, so ask the agency where it confirmed it.
A qualified rate means nothing without its definition
'We deliver 35% qualified leads' is a sentence an agency can say and you can't test. Qualified by whom, against which criteria, out of which leads? Our own off-plan case study, a Dubai campaign from 2024 to 2025, quotes a 35%+ qualified lead rate against a 15 to 20% industry average, so the question applies to us as much as anyone. Ask what counted.
Write the definition before the campaign starts, let the people who take the calls set it, and keep it fixed for the period. Then expect these numbers every week, split by source: leads, qualified leads, cost per qualified lead and the share of leads answered within the hour. An agency that reports only cost per lead is reporting on the cheapest leads, which are rarely the best. The MQL and SQL entry shows how marketing and sales usually draw the line.
Should your agency also work for your rivals?
Not for a direct rival, no. Two clients chasing the same buyers share a team, a calendar and a stack of confidential facts, from launch dates and price lists to broker commissions, and even honest people can't un-know a price.
Ask which rivals the agency will refuse while you're a client, and get it in writing. For a developer a direct rival is another project in the same community and price band, and for a broker it's another firm working the same patch.
Our rule is that each team serves three clients at most and never two direct rivals. Exclusivity by community can work too, provided it's specific and enforceable. 'We have never had a conflict' is not a rule.
Get the money and the exit in writing
A quote should say what the fee covers, what it doesn't, and whether VAT is on top. Our prices exclude VAT, ad spend, professional shoots beyond site footage and software you choose to own, such as a paid CRM. Most of our monthly services start from AED 12,000 a month, priced on scope.
UAE VAT has applied since 1 January 2018 at 5%, and the Ministry of Finance's page gives no exception for advertising or agency services. On that reading agency fees are standard-rated, but it's our reading and not a Federal Tax Authority statement, so check with your accountant.
Our terms are a six-month minimum and then 60 days' notice, which means leaving isn't instant and you should weigh that. Whatever an agency's number, check the notice period, what happens to the accounts and files on exit, whether renewal is automatic, and whether the minimum term binds both sides. Ad accounts, pages and files should stay in your name throughout, as they do with us.
When an agency is the wrong answer
Wait on hiring any agency, ours included, if one of these is true.
- Your enquiries wait hours for a first reply. More leads will wait longer, and an agency can't fix that from outside.
- Nobody can say what a closed deal is worth to you. Without that number you can't judge any report, ours included.
- You hold a handful of listings. The weekly routine in how to get real estate clients in Dubai costs time instead of fees.
- Leads aren't logged anywhere. Fix that first with the real estate CRM checklist.
If none of those describes you, the plug-in marketing department is built for property teams, and real estate marketing in Dubai shows how the pieces fit before you pay anyone. Send the four opening questions to three agencies today and give each two working days. Whoever answers in writing, with specifics, is your shortlist.
Questions people ask
How much does a real estate marketing agency cost in Dubai?
We can't verify a market average, so here is what we publish. Most of our monthly services start from AED 12,000 a month, and the plug-in department for real estate is AED 18,000 for Core, AED 30,000 for Department and AED 45,000 for Dedicated, excluding VAT and ad spend. Compare quotes by what the fee covers, not the headline.
Should a property marketing agency handle Trakheesi permits?
Someone has to, and the contract should name who. DLD issues the permits and ties the listed types to a marketing contract between broker and owner. Ask who applies, who pays the fee, and how an ad without a permit is stopped before it runs.
What is a qualified lead in real estate?
It's a lead your sales team has judged worth pursuing against a written definition, for example a reachable person with a realistic budget and a buying window you can name. The definition should come from sales and stay fixed while a campaign runs.
Can one agency work for competing developers or brokers?
Some do, but rivals share buyers, launch dates and confidential facts, so the risk is real. Ask for the conflict rule in writing. Ours caps each team at three clients and never puts two direct rivals in the same team.
How long should you commit to a property marketing agency?
Long enough for a full launch or listing cycle, and short enough to leave if the reports stay vague. Ours is a six-month minimum and then 60 days' notice. Whatever the number, get the notice period, the exit terms and account ownership in writing before you sign.