The Lakes villas: Deema, Forat, Maeen, Zulal and Ghadeer compared
Established gated villa community near Emirates Hills, with mature landscaping and a stock that increasingly divides on renovation.
The Lakes sits within Emirates Living, with the community manager naming Deema, Forat, Maeen, Zulal and Ghadeer as its sub-communities. Walking paths, pools and sports facilities create an established outdoor setting, while the individual home’s layout and renovation history shape the purchase.
The community manager identifies Deema, Forat, Maeen, Zulal and Ghadeer within The Lakes. Use that sub-community identity when drawing comparisons, then narrow further to the home’s layout and plot. A shared Lakes address can otherwise hide differences in room arrangement, garden relationship and access to facilities.
Emaar Community Management: The LakesThe Lakes’ official amenities include walking routes, swimming pools and sports courts. For a family rental or owner-occupier brief, inspect the relevant facility and the route from the actual home. The value lies in convenient regular use, which cannot be established by simply counting amenities across the whole neighbourhood.
Emaar Community Management: The LakesEmaar Community Management presents Hattan separately within Emirates Living. When a listing groups it with The Lakes, resolve the actual community and home type before comparing it with Deema or Ghadeer. This avoids allowing a broad marketing location to blur differences in the underlying residential product.
Emaar Community Management: Emirates Living neighbourhoodsThe Lakes is one of the original Emirates Living villa communities, gated and arranged around landscaped lakes, immediately adjacent to Emirates Hills. It offers genuine maturity: full-grown landscaping, established community facilities, and a resident base that has been in place for years.
Its stock is now old enough that the market has separated between renovated and original properties, and that separation is the main pricing factor.
Within the Emirates Living area off Sheikh Zayed Road, close to Dubai Marina, Media City and Internet City. Schools in and around Emirates Living are a significant draw. No metro; access is by car via Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road.
Homes in sub-communities named by Emaar Community Management as Deema, Forat, Maeen, Zulal and Ghadeer. The manager presents Hattan separately within Emirates Living, so identify it precisely when listings group it under The Lakes. Layout, approved alterations and plot position should guide the comparison.
Families, predominantly owner-occupiers, many of whom have moved within Emirates Living rather than into it. Rental demand is steady and driven by school access and the community's maturity. Investor participation is limited.
Freehold. The lifestyle is quiet, green and family-oriented, with mature trees that genuinely distinguish it from newer communities. The trade-off is dated internal specification in unrenovated properties.
Community charges cover the gated infrastructure, landscaping and lakes. They are moderate by prime-community standards. Private maintenance of an older villa and its garden is the larger ongoing cost.
Compare the full ownership budget with our rental yield worked example and Dubai service charge checklist.
Fixed; the community is complete. The only new competition comes from other Emirates Living communities and from newer villa districts elsewhere offering modern specification at comparable prices.
Renovation cost is the dominant risk. Original properties often require comprehensive work — services, kitchens, bathrooms, sometimes structural alterations — and the budget for this is routinely underestimated. Older villas may also carry accumulated maintenance issues that only a survey reveals.
We price The Lakes on condition and plot position, and we build a renovation costing into every offer on an unmodernised property. Buyers comparing this against newer villa districts should compare like for like — a renovated Lakes villa and an original one are different assets.
Our residential sales and investment advisory services can help turn your area shortlist into a property brief.
Emaar Community Management lists Deema, Forat, Maeen, Zulal and Ghadeer. Recognising those names helps identify the property more precisely than The Lakes alone. Still confirm the specific layout, plot and any modifications, because the sub-community is a useful starting point rather than a complete description of an individual villa.
First establish the precise community and property type. The manager presents Hattan as its own Emirates Living collection, while Ghadeer is named within The Lakes. Compare the actual building area, plot, layout and condition; the habit of grouping nearby homes under a broad location does not make their physical characteristics equivalent.
Compare the current room arrangement with approved drawings and the original layout, then assess light, ventilation and how the change affects circulation or storage. A converted study may be useful, but a marketing bedroom label does not explain whether the room works comfortably for its intended use or whether modifications were properly documented.
The outlook may be attractive, but assess the garden boundary, path activity, privacy and supervision needs of the household. Also compare the interior plan and condition with a non-lake-facing alternative. An appealing view should be considered alongside the way the family will use the home rather than as a substitute for those basics.
Written by Firswood Properties. Guide updated . Community details checked on . Plans and facilities can change; use the linked primary sources to check a specific project.
Tell us what you are looking for in The Lakes. We will help you consider the property, the location and the next steps.
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