DHG Properties Moves Into Dubai Holiday Homes As Listings Rise 10%

Dubai, UAE — Swiss-owned developer DHG Properties has started managing and renting out homes in its own buildings, including Dubai holiday homes for short stays, the company said this week.

The new DHG Property Management Platform will handle leasing, resale and maintenance for owners. A separate brand, Helvetia Stays, will run Dubai holiday homes for owners who want short-term income. Both start at Helvetia Residences in Jumeirah Village Circle, the developer’s first completed project in the city. DHG has not disclosed its fees.

The move puts another operator into a crowded segment. Dubai holiday homes listings reached 33,795 at the end of the second quarter, up 10.2% from a year earlier, according to an index by First Class Property Management. For Indian owners, who often buy in Dubai to rent out from abroad, the question is how much of the rental income such services keep.

Milos Antic, DHG Group vice chairman and chief executive of DHG Properties, said the move “represents the next phase of DHG’s growth in the UAE.” His comments were in a statement published by Arabian Business as sponsored content.

From Handover To Helvetia Stays

DHG has begun handing over the 430-home, 25-storey Helvetia Residences, Gulf News reported. The developer puts the project’s value at $200 million and says it sold out before handover.

Helvetia Stays will be open only to owners at its buildings, with an on-site team handling listings, bookings, licensing, cleaning and guest services, the company said. The services will then roll out to DHG’s projects in Meydan Horizon and Dubai Islands as they near completion. Both are still under construction, with handovers expected in 2028.

DHG Group is based in Switzerland, where it says it has run development, construction, property management and hospitality under one roof for more than three decades.

Dubai Holiday Homes Earn More, Demand Has Cooled

Short-term letting earns more than annual leases in Dubai on paper. One-bedroom units let as Dubai holiday homes produced a gross yield of 7.2% in the second quarter, against 5.2% on long-term leases, First Class found. It said the largest gaps were in Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Production City and Dubai Creek Harbour.

Those figures are gross. They do not include management fees, furnishing, cleaning or empty nights. First Class, which itself sells rental management, said occupancy and revenue softened compared with 2025 because of a slowdown in tourism.

Supply is also concentrated. Dubai Marina has the most short-term listings, followed by Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Village Circle, the index showed.

Also read: US Investors Eye Dubai Real Estate After Midterms, India Still Leads

JVC’s 6.4% Long-Lease Yield Against Bengaluru’s 4.6%

For Indian buyers, Jumeirah Village Circle is one of Dubai’s cheaper entry points. One-bedroom flats there sold at a median of Dh1.09 million this year, according to Qiyas, which compiles Dubai Land Department records. That is about Rs 2.86 crore, by Invest Dubai Today’s calculation. New annual leases had a median rent of Dh70,000, a gross yield of about 6.4%.

That compares with gross yields of 4.6% in Bengaluru, 4.3% in Mumbai and Gurugram, and 3.6% in Hyderabad, according to Anarock’s mid-2026 data. The comparison is between a Dubai district and Indian city averages, so it is not like for like.

Rental income from Dubai is taxable in India for Indian tax residents. Because the UAE levies no personal income tax, there is no foreign tax credit to offset it. Money sent from India to buy is covered by the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which caps transfers at USD 250,000 per person a year. Remittances above Rs 10 lakh attract 20% tax collected at source.

Fees, Tourism And A Growing Pool Of Listings

The main risk for owners is that more Dubai holiday homes are chasing softer demand. Listings rose 10.2% in a year while occupancy and revenue weakened, according to First Class. Tourism in the region has also been hit by the Iran war.

Investors will look for DHG’s management fees and the occupancy Helvetia Stays reports once it has a full season of bookings. The winter tourist season will show whether demand for Dubai holiday homes recovers.

For investors, a developer-run rental service gives owners at Helvetia Residences one point of contact, but the net return depends on fees DHG has not published. End-users living in the buildings may see more short-term guests as owners sign up. For Indian buyers renting from abroad, the test is the net figure. A 7.2% gross short-term yield shrinks after fees and Indian tax, and that net income decides whether holiday letting beats a long lease.