Real Estate8 November 20266 min read

A 90-day marketing plan for an off-plan launch

A week-by-week plan for an off-plan launch in Dubai: permits, assets, waitlist, broker briefings, launch week and the follow-through after it.

The short answer

Run an off-plan launch as thirteen weeks: foundations in weeks one and two, assets in three to five, a waitlist and broker briefings through week eight, launch in week nine, and follow-up until week thirteen. Don't run an ad before its permit exists, and if the permit slips, move the launch date rather than the permit.

Thirteen weeks is enough to launch an off-plan project properly, provided the first two go on permits, tracking and sales readiness rather than creative. The plan below puts launch week at week nine and leaves four weeks after it, because a launch that isn't followed up wastes the interest it created.

Every row ends with a test, and the test decides whether you move on. If a test fails, the launch date moves. The date is the cheapest thing in the plan to change, and the permit, the CRM test and the reply rota are the most expensive to skip.

Thirteen weeks, with the test that ends each stage
Weeks	Main job	What gets done	Move on when
1 to 2	Foundations	Apply for the advertising permits through Trakheesi. As of November 2026 most types cost AED 1,000 on DLD's page and a launch event permit costs AED 5,000, each plus a further AED 20 fee. Agree the written definition of a qualified lead with sales. Connect the CRM and send a test enquiry from every source. Settle the structure of the payment plan.	A test enquiry from every source reaches the CRM with its source tag and gets a reply inside 15 minutes.
3 to 5	Assets	Build the landing page, brochure, floor plans, labelled renders and the Arabic versions, and plan the site footage. Have the lawyers approve every claim. Put the permit number on every asset.	Every claim on the page has evidence behind it, and the legal sign-off is in writing.
4 to 8	Waitlist	Open registration with budget and buying window as questions. Run small paid tests on project-name search and on Meta interest audiences. Send a short WhatsApp or email update each week to people who opted in.	Qualified registrations have reached the target worked out below, or the launch date has moved.
6 to 8	Broker briefings	Brief the brokers who sold your last project first, then everyone else. Hand over the pack, the commission terms and the rules for registering clients.	Each briefed broker can name the buyers they will call on launch day.
9	Launch week	Release units in the planned order. Run a rota that covers replies from early morning to late evening. Read the numbers every day and answer every enquiry the same day.	Every lead has a status within the hour, and nothing sits unanswered for a day.
10 to 11	Follow-through	Call every registrant who didn't reserve. Offer viewings or site visits. Update availability on every channel the day it changes.	Everyone on the waitlist has had a call, a message and an invitation.
12 to 13	Review and next release	Compare channels by cost per qualified lead and by units reserved. Feed lead quality back into targeting. Plan the construction updates and the next release.	You can name the channel to cut, the channel to grow and the claim buyers questioned most.

Which dates should you check before you fix the launch?

Count back thirteen weeks from your launch date, then check the public holidays inside that window. The government portal lists National Day as a two-day public holiday on 2 and 3 December. Check for a government notice before you fix dates around it, and keep broker briefings and launch week off any holiday.

Islamic holidays follow moon sighting, so treat these as expected dates. The National, reporting the UAE Astronomy Centre's projections, expects Ramadan 2027 to begin on 8 February 2027 and Eid Al Fitr on 9 or 10 March. Khaleej Times reports that Eid Al Adha is likely on Sunday 16 or Monday 17 May 2027. The UAE marketing calendar lists the rest.

How big should the waitlist be?

Work backwards from the units you need to reserve in launch week. Divide that number by the share of qualified registrants who reserved in your last launch, and you have a target. Say 80 units are released in launch week and, on an earlier project, one in ten qualified registrants reserved: the target would be 800 qualified registrations. Those figures are made up, so use your own.

With no history, ask the brokers you trust what they would expect and take the lower number. A sensible checkpoint is the end of week six, when registrations should be past half the target. If they aren't, shorten the release or move the launch, and don't lower the standard of the list to hit the number.

What can you cut if you only have six weeks?

Cut the paid tests, shorten the waitlist and drop the second round of assets. Keep the permit, the CRM test, the written definition of a qualified lead and the reply rota, because those are what the money lands on. A six-week plan is one foundations week, one asset sprint, a short waitlist that overlaps broker briefings, and the launch.

Nothing on the cut list is free. A shorter waitlist means a smaller first release, and skipped paid tests mean you learn about your audience during launch week instead of before it. Cut with that trade in mind.

How long before you judge a campaign?

Longer than launch week allows. Google advises judging Smart Bidding once a period holds 30 or more conversions, which can take a month or longer, and 50 or more for Target ROAS. That's guidance for evaluating results rather than a minimum for switching it on. A launch on a modest budget may not reach those counts inside a single launch week.

Judge launch-week ads on qualified registrations, reply times and units reserved, and judge the bidding strategy in the review weeks. The Google Ads guide for Dubai real estate and the Meta ads guide cover the set-up behind those numbers.

Underneath the calendar sit two things this plan assumes: a system that records every enquiry, covered in the real estate CRM checklist, and proof for every claim, covered in the off-plan marketing guide. After launch, the WhatsApp follow-up guide has the schedule for contacting people who didn't reserve, and the Trakheesi permit guide covers the paperwork in the first rows.

A plug-in marketing department can run this sequence for you. The Department tier suits one to four projects and is AED 30,000 a month before ad spend and VAT, while Dedicated at AED 45,000 suits several launches at once. You can also run it yourselves, with one project manager and the discipline to keep the tests.

Set the launch date, count back thirteen weeks, and put the week-two test in the diary: one test enquiry from every source, landing in the CRM and answered inside 15 minutes. If that test can't pass, the date isn't real yet.

Questions people ask

01How long does it take to market an off-plan launch in Dubai?

Thirteen weeks is a workable plan: two weeks of permits, tracking and sales readiness, three of assets, a waitlist and broker briefings through week eight, launch in week nine, and four weeks of follow-up. With only six weeks, keep the permit, the CRM test and the reply rota, and cut the paid tests.

02What permits do you need for an off-plan launch in Dubai?

DLD issues advertising permits through Trakheesi. Its page prices most types at AED 1,000 and the project launch event permit at AED 5,000, plus a further AED 20 fee. Which ones your ads and event need is for DLD to confirm before you spend. This isn't legal advice.

03How do you build a waitlist for an off-plan project?

Open registration weeks before launch, ask for budget and buying window on the form, and update the list weekly by WhatsApp or email to people who opted in. Set the target by dividing the units you must reserve by the share of qualified registrants who reserved last time.

04When should you avoid launching an off-plan project in the UAE?

Avoid public holidays and the days around them for broker briefings and launch week. National Day is a two-day holiday on 2 and 3 December, and Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on 8 February 2027, subject to moon sighting. Check for a government notice before you fix dates.