# Dubai developer completion cohorts by community type: a six-record method (2026)

> A six-record DLD ledger shows how to group Dubai developer completion fields by community type without implying performance or handover.

Source: https://withlida.com/insights/dubai-developer-completion-cohorts-community-type

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:::intro
Six current DLD project records checked on 29 September 2026 returned `Finished` at `100.0%` and, after an official-source mapping, form three completion-year cohorts across two withlida community types. That result describes the selected records only; it is not a building, unit, handover, timeliness or performance count.
:::

:::summary
- The useful comparison unit is an exact DLD project record, identified by project number, not a developer brand total.
- This bounded population contains six records: four mapped to a mixed-home community and two mapped to a villa-and-townhouse community.
- The withlida taxonomy is editorial. DLD did not return a `community type` field in these records.
- The code-produced cohorts are 2019 with two records, 2020 with two records and 2022 with two records.
- `Finished`, `100.0%`, a completion-date field and a handover are different factual kinds. This sample establishes only the first three.
:::

## The population comes before the cohort

The population is six exact DLD project records, not every project connected to a developer name. It is a bounded worked sample selected only after each record could be tied to one of two current, source-defined community types.

The [DLD Project Status Enquiry](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/real-estate-project-status-landing/) says it returns project completion percentage and details in Dubai. As accessed on 29 September 2026, its website procedure accepts a land number, project number or project name, and DLD describes the service time as immediate. The live interface also exposes a search by project name or project number.

The inclusion rule had three parts:

1. Preserve the exact project number and registered developer from the returned DLD row.
2. Require the returned status `Finished` and a populated DLD completion-date field.
3. Map the project to a community type only when current official issuer material supports the relationship. A shared word in a search result is not enough.

That third rule matters. The submitted `Sidra` search also returned records in Business Bay under different registered entities. Those rows stayed outside the population. Another returned record stayed out because a current issuer page binding that exact row to the proposed community label was not retained. Searches that returned no exact record also remain exclusions, not blank observations.

Every returned row, empty search, mapping and exclusion is preserved in the audit. The wider [completion-record table method](/developers/compare-dubai-developers-completion-record-table) explains why the project number and legal developer belong in separate columns before any comparison begins.

## Community type is an editorial field

The two community types are withlida classifications based on the issuer's current property-type descriptions. They are not DLD statuses, and they do not change any returned registry field.

| withlida community type | Mapped community | Current issuer description | Why it is a separate field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixed-home community | Dubai Hills Estate | Apartments, villas and townhouses | The type describes the community's published home mix, not a DLD project status |
| Villa-and-townhouse community | Arabian Ranches III | Villas and townhouses | The type describes the community's published home mix, not a delivery result |

**Sources:** [Emaar's current community directory](https://www.emaar.com/en/our-communities) labels Dubai Hills Estate as apartments, villas and townhouses. The [Arabian Ranches III community page](https://www.emaar.com/en/our-communities/arabian-ranches-iii) lists Joy and Sun within that community and identifies its property types as villas and townhouses. Both pages were accessed on 29 September 2026.

The taxonomy is deliberately small and mutually exclusive for this sample. It does not mix ownership tenure, construction stage, price segment and home format into one column. Those dimensions answer different questions and would need separate fields.

The mapping also stays outside the DLD response. The record table keeps returned DLD fields, editorial mapping fields and calculated cohorts separate. In the ledger below, `community type` is editorial, `Finished` is returned status, `100.0%` is returned completion ratio, and the year cohort is calculated from the returned completion date.

## The six-record classification ledger

The ledger preserves identity before it aggregates anything. It contains six DLD project numbers, two registered legal developers and six separate completion dates from 26 June 2019 to 16 December 2022.

| DLD project record | Returned legal developer | Returned completion fields | Returned dates | withlida editorial map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1727, `Sidra` | 984, Dubai Hills Estate L.L.C | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 26 Jun 2019; registered 18 Feb 2016 | Dubai Hills Estate; mixed-home community |
| 1841, `Sidra 2` | 984, Dubai Hills Estate L.L.C | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 30 Jun 2019; registered 15 Dec 2016 | Dubai Hills Estate; mixed-home community |
| 1887, `Park Heights Ii` | 984, Dubai Hills Estate L.L.C | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 31 Mar 2020; registered 6 Apr 2017 | Dubai Hills Estate; mixed-home community |
| 1931, `Sidra 3` | 984, Dubai Hills Estate L.L.C | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 30 Jun 2020; registered 27 Jul 2017 | Dubai Hills Estate; mixed-home community |
| 2142, `Arabian Ranches Iii - Joy` | 1211, Emaar Development P.J.S.C. | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 30 Aug 2022; registered 14 Mar 2019 | Arabian Ranches III; villa-and-townhouse community |
| 2145, `Arabian Ranches Iii - Sun` | 1211, Emaar Development P.J.S.C. | `Finished`; `100.0%` | Completion 16 Dec 2022; registered 27 Mar 2019 | Arabian Ranches III; villa-and-townhouse community |

**Source:** exact current records from the [DLD Project Status Enquiry](https://dubailand.gov.ae/en/eservices/real-estate-project-status-landing/real-estate-project-status/), fetched on 29 September 2026. The [Joy](https://www.emaar.com/en/properties/joy) and [Sun](https://www.emaar.com/en/properties/sun) issuer pages independently bind those project names to Arabian Ranches III. The Dubai Hills rows returned `Dubai Hills Estate L.L.C` as the registered developer; the community type comes from the separate issuer directory cited above.

Registration date and completion date remain separate because DLD returned them as separate fields. The ledger does not infer why the dates differ, and it does not replace either date with an issuer's stated target.

The related [Emaar community completion record](/developers/emaar-community-completion-record) applies the same identity discipline at a broader community level. This ledger narrows the question to a source-backed type classification.

## Code produces three completion-year cohorts

The calculation groups the six exact records first by editorial community type, then by the year in the returned DLD completion-date field. It produces three year cohorts without changing the source records.

| withlida community type | Mapped community | Included DLD project records | Completion-year cohorts in this sample | Returned completion-date window |
|---|---|---:|---|---|
| Mixed-home community | Dubai Hills Estate | 4 | 2019: 2; 2020: 2 | 26 Jun 2019 to 30 Jun 2020 |
| Villa-and-townhouse community | Arabian Ranches III | 2 | 2022: 2 | 30 Aug 2022 to 16 Dec 2022 |

**Method:** code reads the six saved DLD detail responses, validates each project number, status, completion ratio and date, applies the saved editorial mapping, and counts the year values. The totals reconcile to six records and two community types as of 29 September 2026.

::figure{src="images/blog/dubai-developer-completion-cohorts-community-type/inline-1.png" alt="Two physical cohort tracks showing two records in 2019, two in 2020 and two in 2022" caption="The code groups exact project records by the returned completion year after the community type is mapped."}

The table does not show that one community type performs better. Its uneven row count comes from the sample design: four selected records in one mapped type and two in the other. Expanding the population would require a new declared inclusion rule and a fresh source audit, not an extrapolation from these six rows.

## What the result can show and cannot show

The result can show record identity, returned status fields, completion-date cohorts and the size of this selected population. It cannot turn those fields into a judgment about a developer or a claim about events the records do not expose.

| Evidence question | This ledger can show | This ledger cannot show |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Exact DLD project number, project name and registered legal developer | A whole brand portfolio from a few selected rows |
| Current record fields | `Finished`, `100.0%`, registration date and completion date as returned on 29 September 2026 | The reason behind any field or date |
| Time grouping | Which selected records share a completion year | Whether a stated target and actual event matched |
| Scale | Six selected DLD project records | Six buildings, six units or six handovers |
| Editorial comparison | Two source-backed community types | Quality, timeliness, performance or a developer ranking |

::figure{src="images/blog/dubai-developer-completion-cohorts-community-type/inline-2.png" alt="A physical evidence boundary separating record and date from handover and performance" caption="Returned fields support record and date questions. Handover and performance need different evidence."}

The boundary is the conclusion, not a caveat after the result. A DLD project record is the unit counted here. A building count would require building-level fields and rules. A unit count would require unit-level evidence. A handover count would require a source that records handover at that level. None can be substituted for another.

## A repeatable record method

The method works only when every transformation remains visible.

::::steps
:::step{title="Declare the population"}
List the exact project numbers, search date, inclusion rule and exclusion rule before calculating a cohort.
:::
:::step{title="Keep returned fields intact"}
Store the DLD project name, registered legal developer, status, completion ratio, completion date and registration date under their source labels.
:::
:::step{title="Map community type from a separate source"}
Use a current official community or project page. Record the source and label the result as an editorial classification. Do not assign the type from a shared project-name word.
:::
:::step{title="Calculate from saved records"}
Group exact records by the editorial type and the year in the returned completion-date field. Publish the project-record count beside each cohort.
:::
:::step{title="State the evidence boundary"}
Name the conclusions the fields support and the conclusions that need different evidence. Do not convert a registry field into a handover or performance claim.
:::
::::

This structure leaves room for a larger future sample without changing the nouns. New records can be added, mappings can be revised when official pages change, and the same code can rebuild the table from the retained source fields.

## FAQ, checked 29 September 2026

::::faq
:::faq-item{q="Who is the biggest Dubai developer?"}
“Biggest” needs a named metric and period. A count of selected DLD project records is not the same as buildings, units, handovers, sales or corporate assets, so this six-record method does not assign that label.
:::
:::faq-item{q="What are the top Dubai developers?"}
A neutral record method does not create a league table. It compares exact, source-defined fields and states what each cohort can establish without ranking quality or performance.
:::
:::faq-item{q="Does DLD Finished mean every unit was handed over?"}
The selected DLD records returned separate status, completion-ratio and completion-date fields on 29 September 2026. This population contains no unit-level handover field, so it does not establish that conclusion.
:::
:::faq-item{q="Can project counts measure developer performance?"}
No. A project-record count describes the selected registry rows. Buildings, units, timeliness, quality and handover require their own sources, definitions and observation periods.
:::
::::

:::callout{variant="info" title="Keep the record set current"}
Subscribe to the withlida market brief for dated Dubai developer records, source methods and new evidence tables.
:::