ELRE
Dubai Real Estate: Homes, Villas and Apartments
Registered sale prices, areas, costs and buying rules: Dubai real estate read with official data and through the eyes of an architecture studio.
Dubai real estate in 2026: what you will find on this page
Dubai real estate attracts buyers from all over the world every year, and more and more Europeans ask how to find their way between apartments, villas, off-plan projects and ready homes. This page sets out what you need to know before choosing: how much is really bought, at what prices, in which areas, under which rules and with which costs on top of the price.
The figures do not come from listings but from the official sales register of the Dubai Land Department, the authority that records every change of ownership: 108,562 apartment and villa sales registered from 1 January to 10 October 2026. For each figure we say what it measures and what it does not.
The Dubai real estate we follow directly is presented by the Real Estate team of Elite Luxury Real Estate: in Dubai our contact is Tatiana Juma. The founder, architect Federico Cappellina, guarantees the method we use to read it.
Dubai real estate: five questions before you search
Before looking at Dubai real estate listings, it is worth answering five questions. We ask them of everyone who writes to us, because they change the search more than the budget does.
- What is the home for? Living in it, spending the winter there, renting it out: three answers, three different searches through Dubai real estate.
- Ready or off-plan? If you need it soon, the choice is among Dubai real estate already built; if you can wait, the off-plan market offers more choice and payment in instalments.
- Apartment or villa? Shared amenities and simple maintenance, or space, garden and privacy.
- Which area? City centre, coast, islands or villa communities: each part of Dubai has a different rhythm.
- How much can you spend in total? Price, registration fee, commission, furnishing and annual charges: a Dubai real estate budget must be made on the total.
With these answers the search narrows to a few areas and a few projects, and it becomes possible to really compare Dubai real estate instead of scrolling through hundreds of listings.
Villas for sale
The international selection
Dubai real estate
Market, areas, prices
Buying off-plan
10 checks before signing
Luxury villas in Dubai
Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills
Dubai villa prices
Registered sales
The method
How we read a property
Contact
Write to us
The Dubai real estate market in figures
In 2026 the register counted 98,693 apartment sales and 9,869 villa sales, considering only residential sales above 300,000 dirhams (AED). It is a market made mostly of apartments, and mostly of Dubai real estate bought off-plan, before it is built.
| Apartments | Villas | |
|---|---|---|
| Registered sales | 98,693 | 9,869 |
| Median price | AED 1.22m = €0.30m | AED 3.30m = €0.80m |
| Off-plan | 76% | 72% |
| Ready: median price | AED 1.16m = €0.28m | AED 3.64m = €0.88m |
| Off-plan: median price | AED 1.24m = €0.30m | AED 2.98m = €0.72m |
The median price is the one in the middle: half of the sales cost less, half cost more. It is more reliable than the average, which a few very expensive homes push upwards. Euro figures are indicative: ECB reference rate and the dirham’s fixed rate to the dollar; contracts are paid in dirhams.
The most important figure is the off-plan share: 76% of apartments and 72% of villas. Anyone looking at Dubai real estate today is largely looking at projects, renderings and payment plans: this is why checks on the project matter more than elsewhere.
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What price it is, and what the register does not say
The value we use is the one written in the contract and registered by the Dubai Land Department. It is not the asking price in a listing, which can be higher. The register gives a single amount per sale: it does not show the payment plan, registration fees, commissions or the level of finish.
For villas the registered area is the plot, not the house, as we verified by comparing the register with project sheets: this is why our villa tables do not show a price per square metre of house. The full source is the Dubai Land Department open data portal.
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2026 month by month
How many Dubai real estate sales does the Dubai Land Department register each month? Here are the 2026 figures, apartments and villas separately. October is partial: the data run to the 10th.
| Month | Apartments | Villas |
|---|---|---|
| January | 12,217 | 2,115 |
| February | 12,700 | 1,553 |
| March | 10,504 | 1,267 |
| April | 11,163 | 1,063 |
| May | 8,357 | 600 |
| June | 11,102 | 774 |
| July | 11,444 | 760 |
| August | 9,577 | 700 |
| September | 8,806 | 788 |
| October | 2,823 | 249 |
Apartments move between about 8.4 and 12.7 thousand sales a month, with a fairly regular pattern. Villas fell from 2,115 sales in January to between 600 and 788 a month from May onwards.
Be careful not to read these numbers as a price trend: they count sales, not their value. Among villas, a few large off-plan projects sold in blocks can move a whole month. To understand how Dubai real estate prices are moving you need the same homes compared over time, not volumes.
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Apartments for sale in Dubai: prices by type
Apartments make up most Dubai real estate for sale. Studios and one-bedroom apartments together account for almost three sales in four: it is the market of people buying to rent out or to have a base in the city. The median price of an apartment sold in 2026 is AED 1.22 million (about €0.30 million).
| Apartment | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | 39,896 | AED 1.24m = €0.30m |
| Studio | 30,380 | AED 0.68m = €0.17m |
| 2 bedrooms | 22,338 | AED 2.18m = €0.53m |
| 3 bedrooms | 5,353 | AED 3.86m = €0.94m |
| 4 bedrooms | 621 | AED 10.21m = €2.48m |
For apartments the registered area is the unit itself: the median is 71 m², with a median price of AED 18,442 per m² (about €4,481 per m²). Ready apartments have a lower price per square metre (AED 15,128 per m² (about €3,676 per m²)) than off-plan ones (AED 19,052 per m² (about €4,629 per m²)): new projects cost more, but are paid in instalments during construction.
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Where most apartments are sold
The register uses cadastral district names, which do not always match the marketing names of communities: Madinat Al Mataar, for example, is the area around Al Maktoum airport in Dubai South. These are the ten districts with the most apartment sales in 2026.
| District in the registry | Apartment sales | Median price | Off-plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madinat Al Mataar | 11,410 | AED 0.77m = €0.19m | 100% |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 7,418 | AED 1.00m = €0.24m | 59% |
| Dubai Land Residence Complex | 4,862 | AED 0.81m = €0.20m | 91% |
| Majan | 4,087 | AED 0.72m = €0.17m | 84% |
| Business Bay | 3,413 | AED 2.01m = €0.49m | 51% |
| Palm Deira | 2,938 | AED 2.88m = €0.70m | 100% |
| City Of Arabia | 2,574 | AED 0.61m = €0.15m | 99% |
| Arjan | 2,516 | AED 0.94m = €0.23m | 64% |
| Dubai Production City | 2,362 | AED 0.96m = €0.23m | 76% |
| Jabal Ali First | 2,334 | AED 1.66m = €0.40m | 98% |
Prices vary a lot from one district to another: Business Bay, next to the centre, has a median price about double that of Jumeirah Village Circle. The number of sales shows where new supply is concentrated, not where it is best to buy: in Dubai real estate the choice depends on use, exposure, project and developer.
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Dubai real estate by area: how to read the city
Dubai is not one city but a set of very different parts, built at different times. Before looking at individual Dubai real estate it is worth understanding which part of the city you want to live or invest in, because the area decides the type of home, the price and everyday life.
- The centre: Downtown and Business Bay. Residential towers around the Burj Khalifa and along the Dubai Canal, offices, shops, restaurants. Here Dubai real estate is almost all apartments, with some of the highest prices in the city.
- The coast: Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach Residence. Towers on the harbour and the sea, life on foot between beach and promenade. Many buyers choose this Dubai real estate for renting out.
- The islands: Palm Jumeirah and Jumeira Bay. Seafront villas and apartments, with small numbers and very high prices: each home must be read on its own.
- Villa communities: Emirates Hills, Dubai Hills, Arabian Ranches. Neighbourhoods designed around golf courses, lakes and parks, with shared rules on façades and gardens.
- New inland communities: Dubailand, Dubai South, Jumeirah Village Circle. This is where most off-plan sales and the most affordable Dubai real estate are concentrated.
Each area has its own community rules, service charges and delivery times. This is why, before comparing Dubai real estate in different areas, it is worth comparing the way of life each area allows.
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Houses and villas for sale in Dubai
Villas are fewer than one in ten Dubai real estate sales, but they are the segment we know best, because it speaks the language of the architecture studio. The median price of a villa sold in 2026 is AED 3.30 million (about €0.80 million); for ready villas it rises to AED 3.64 million (about €0.88 million).
| Villa | Sales | Median price |
|---|---|---|
| 2 bedrooms | 608 | AED 1.55m = €0.38m |
| 3 bedrooms | 2,595 | AED 3.13m = €0.76m |
| 4 bedrooms | 4,820 | AED 2.90m = €0.70m |
| 5 bedrooms | 1,627 | AED 4.49m = €1.09m |
The district with the most villa sales is Al Yelayiss 1, home to DAMAC Islands 2: 3,478 sales, all off-plan, with a median price of AED 2.90 million (about €0.70 million). It is one of the projects we follow, and we present it below, disclosing our relationship with the developer.
Top-end villas on Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills have small numbers and very different prices: we describe them in our guide to luxury villas in Dubai, while community-by-community prices are in our article on Dubai villa prices.
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How much does a home in Dubai cost: price bands
To the question «how much does a home in Dubai cost» the register answers with a distribution, not a number. Here is how 2026 sales split by price band. 74% of apartments are under 2 million dirhams; 86% of villas sit between 2 and 10 million.
| Price band | In euros (approx.) | Apartments | Villas |
|---|---|---|---|
| under AED 1 million | under ~€243,000 | 37,075 (38%) | 142 (1%) |
| AED 1 to 2 million | ~€243,000–486,000 | 36,143 (37%) | 893 (9%) |
| AED 2 to 5 million | ~€486,000–1.2m | 21,851 (22%) | 7,034 (71%) |
| AED 5 to 10 million | ~€1.2–2.4m | 2,599 (3%) | 1,489 (15%) |
| over AED 10 million | over ~€2.4m | 1,025 (1%) | 311 (3%) |
For a European buyer, the band from 2 to 5 million dirhams, roughly half a million to 1.2 million euros, is where Dubai real estate offers the widest choice of villas and large apartments. Above 10 million the market consists of a few very different homes, each of which must be read on its own.
The price, however, is only part of the cost. Before comparing two Dubai real estate options it is worth adding up purchase costs and annual charges, which we cover below.
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Apartment or villa: how to choose
In Dubai real estate, the choice between apartment and villa is not just about budget. They are two different ways of living in the city.
A tower apartment offers shared amenities (pool, gym, concierge, security), simpler maintenance and often a central location. In return you share spaces and rules with many neighbours, and service charges depend on how the building is managed. It is the most common choice for people who spend part of the year in Dubai or buy to rent out.
A villa offers space, a garden, a private pool and more privacy, but it needs more care: garden, pool, building services, security while you are away. In villa communities the rules on exterior changes are precise, and it is worth reading them before buying if you plan to extend or rebuild.
For a home to live in for a long time, a villa allows more; for Dubai real estate used little or rented out, an apartment is often simpler. In both cases the quality of the design matters more than the category.
Ready or off-plan: the choice that matters most
With three sales in four off-plan, the first choice for anyone looking at Dubai real estate is between a home that exists and one that will be built. A ready home can be visited, measured and rented at once; an off-plan one costs less at first, is paid in instalments and lets you choose among more units, but requires trust in the project and the developer.
Dubai law protects off-plan buyers precisely: under Law No. 8 of 2007 payments go into the project’s escrow account and, if the project is cancelled, must be refunded. The contract is registered with the Dubai Land Department (off-plan registration is called Oqood). Outside the escrow account the protection is lost.
The ten checks we make before signing are in our guide to buying off-plan property in Dubai: escrow account, contract, payment plan, delivery date, specifications, drawings, service charges and termination.
Buying a home in Dubai as a foreigner: how it works
Foreigners can buy Dubai real estate freehold in the areas where ownership by non-residents is allowed, which include most new neighbourhoods. The contract is registered with the Dubai Land Department as for an Emirati buyer, and the property is held in the buyer’s name.
In short, the process is this:
- Choosing the property and checking the documents: title, project status, community rules, service charges.
- Agreement and reservation: for a ready home, a preliminary contract between the parties; for an off-plan property, the reservation with the developer.
- Payments: for off-plan homes into the project’s escrow account, never into third-party accounts.
- Registration with the Dubai Land Department and payment of the registration fee.
- Handover: for off-plan homes, an inspection before taking the keys and a list of defects.
For buyers abroad, many steps can be done through a power of attorney, but signing it and choosing who receives it should be done with a lawyer. A complete guide to buying a home in Dubai, with questions and costs step by step, is in preparation.
Buying to live in or to rent out
Dubai real estate is bought for three reasons: to live in, to spend part of the year in, to rent out. They are different choices that lead to different homes.
People buying to live there look at space, light, nearby schools or offices, and the quality of the community. People buying for part of the year look at how easily the home can be closed and reopened, security, and who looks after it. People buying to rent out look at rental demand in the area and at the costs that reduce the yield.
Short-term rentals to tourists in Dubai require a permit from the tourism authority and the home must be registered as a holiday home; many buildings and communities have their own rules. It must be checked before buying, not after: Dubai real estate intended for short lets in a building that does not allow them becomes a different investment from the one imagined.
In every case, service charges, air-conditioning maintenance and management of the home while you are away must be included before calculating Dubai real estate yields.
The documents for a purchase in Dubai
Buying Dubai real estate requires few documents, but they should be prepared in time, especially when buying from abroad.
- Valid passport of the buyer; for companies, the corporate documents required by the Dubai Land Department.
- Preliminary contract or reservation form, with price, deposit, timing and conditions.
- Developer’s no-objection certificate for reselling a home in a community: it confirms there are no outstanding service charges.
- Proof of payments, for off-plan homes all into the project’s escrow account.
- Power of attorney, if you are not present at signing: prepared with a lawyer and, if signed abroad, legalised according to UAE rules.
A local lawyer checks the contract and the legal steps; an architect reads drawings, specifications and the state of the property. For off-plan Dubai real estate the second check is often the one that is missing.
Currency, transfers and taxes at home
The UAE dirham has a fixed exchange rate with the US dollar: AED 3.6725 to one dollar. For anyone buying Dubai real estate with savings in euros, the currency risk is therefore between the euro and the dollar, to be considered especially for off-plan homes paid in instalments over several years.
Your home country may tax property abroad. A resident of Italy, for example, must declare it in the RW section of the tax return and, as a rule, pays the Italian tax on the value of property abroad (IVIE); any rents are taxed under Italian rules. This is not tax advice: before buying Dubai real estate, talk to your own tax adviser, who knows your situation.
The most common mistakes when buying Dubai real estate
Many problems with Dubai real estate come from a few repeated mistakes. We list them because they are easy to avoid if you know them in advance.
- Paying outside the escrow account because «it is faster»: for off-plan homes it is the only payment protected by law.
- Choosing from the rendering alone. Exposure, shade, building services and layout are read in the drawings, not in the images.
- Ignoring service charges. They vary a lot from one building to another and weigh on the yield every year.
- Buying only for the visa threshold. The visa can be obtained with the right home too; choosing only for the threshold often leads to the wrong home.
- Not checking the agent. Every agent must be registered: it is a two-minute check.
- Forgetting the handover. The inspection before taking the keys, with a list of defects, should always be done, even for Dubai real estate by the big developers.
Avoiding them does not require becoming an expert: it is enough to ask the right questions at the right moment, before signing.
Costs on top of the price
Dubai real estate has no annual property tax like many European countries, but it does have purchase and annual costs that should be budgeted from the start.
- Dubai Land Department fee: 4% of the price, plus administrative fees; in off-plan sales it is usually paid by the buyer. Always have the exact amount calculated.
- Agency commission: agreed in writing before the viewing, with who pays it and when.
- Mortgage: if there is one, it has its own registration and valuation fees.
- Annual service charges: paid per square metre and varying widely between buildings; approved rates can be checked in the official index.
- Maintenance and utilities: air conditioning runs most of the year, and a badly oriented home costs more for its whole life.
Adding up these costs often changes the comparison between two Dubai real estate options: a cheaper apartment with high service charges can cost more over ten years than a more expensive one in a well-managed building.
The Dubai properties we follow
Elite Luxury Real Estate does not publish hundreds of listings: it presents a selection of Dubai real estate that the team knows and can explain. We work with DAMAC as an agent, and we disclose it on every page where we present its projects.
- DAMAC Islands 2, Dubailand: villas and townhouses in a water-themed community, the project with the most villa sales in 2026; 4-bedroom homes from AED 2,824,000 according to the developer’s price list.
- Altitude by de GRISOGONO, Business Bay: a residential tower on the Dubai Canal; January 2024 price list from AED 1,180,000 for a studio to AED 6,280,000 for three bedrooms.
- Canal Crown by de GRISOGONO, Business Bay: Altitude’s twin tower, with its own interiors and units; price on request.
- Canal Heights 2 by de GRISOGONO, Business Bay: canal-side residences in the same language.
List prices change and must always be confirmed with the developer at the time of the enquiry. For each project we ask in writing for the escrow account, payment plan, delivery date and specifications.
What we ask the developer for every project
For all off-plan Dubai real estate we present, before proposing it we ask in writing for some information. It is the same we advise anyone to ask for.
- Number of the project’s escrow account and the bank that manages it.
- Full payment plan, with instalments linked to construction progress and not only to the calendar.
- Expected delivery date and consequences of delay, as written in the contract.
- Specifications of finishes, kitchens, bathrooms and building services, with the brands.
- Plans, sections and orientation of the unit, not only of the complex.
- Estimate of annual service charges and the community or building rules.
When a piece of information is missing, we say so. Dubai real estate without these answers is not necessarily a bad deal, but it is a purchase with more unknowns.
Two signature villas designed for Dubai
Alongside developers’ Dubai real estate, the architecture studio has designed two villa projects for Dubai’s climate and landscape: Iron Villa and Rock House. They are designs, not built houses: they show how a villa can respond to the sun, heat and light of the Gulf with a contemporary Italian language.
An architect's eye on Dubai real estate
A rendering shows a house at sunset with the curtains open. An architect reads the drawings to understand what it will be like at noon in August. In Dubai real estate there are five things we always check, even before the price.
- Exposure. A west-facing glass façade without shading gets the strongest sun in the hottest hours: you pay for it in air conditioning for the life of the building.
- Shade. Deep loggias, overhangs and screens are worth more than any finish: they make terraces and living rooms usable.
- Building services. Where the plant is, how it is reached for maintenance, how much noise it makes near the bedrooms.
- Materials. Sand, sun and humidity near the sea wear finishes and metals: better a few robust materials than many delicate ones.
- Layout. Daily routes, the relationship between served and service spaces, privacy from neighbours in close-set villa communities.
It is the same method the studio uses to design its villas in Italy, described on The method page. Applied to Dubai real estate it helps tell a home that is pleasant to live in from one that is merely easy to sell.
Real estate agency in Dubai: how to choose one
In Dubai, real estate agents must be registered with the sector regulator, and every proper listing shows the registration numbers of the agency and the agent. It is the first check to make: an unregistered agency does not protect you, and a payment made through it is not protected.
- Registration: ask for the agency and agent numbers and verify them.
- Commission: in writing, before the viewing, with who pays it.
- Payments: never to the agency on behalf of the developer; for off-plan homes only into the escrow account.
- Disclosed relationships: ask whether the agency works for the developer it is proposing. It is not a problem, if it says so.
Elite Luxury Real Estate works in Dubai with its Real Estate team, which handles the property side, and with local professionals for the legal side. We always disclose commercial relationships: it is the simplest way to let you weigh our advice.
After the purchase: managing a home in Dubai from afar
Many European buyers use their Dubai real estate only a few weeks a year. The home, however, lives all year round: heat, dust and humidity keep working even when nobody is there.
- Air conditioning and dehumidification must be maintained even when you are away, with regular checks and clean filters.
- A contact person on site, or a management company, to open the home, check it after a sandstorm and let technicians in.
- Insurance for the home and its contents, separate from the building’s.
- Service charges and utilities paid regularly: arrears block a resale.
Anyone wanting to redo the interiors after buying can do so with the architecture studio, under a separate engagement: it is the moment many bring Made in Italy into their Dubai home, choosing materials and brands suited to the climate.
Dubai real estate and the Golden Visa
Many buyers also look at Dubai real estate for the long-term residence visa linked to property investment. Thresholds, conditions and documents change over time: we have collected them in our Golden Visa guide, with official sources.
Our advice is to choose the right property first and only then check whether it qualifies for the visa: a property chosen only for the visa threshold risks being the wrong one to live in or to resell.
Living in Dubai, not just buying
People who buy Dubai real estate often spend part of the year there. It is worth getting to know the city before choosing the area: the centre with Business Bay and Downtown, the coast with Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, the villa communities inland, the historic districts around the Creek. Our Dubai travel guide describes the city, the Creek and the desert.
The climate shapes daily life more than in Europe: the cooler months, from late autumn to early spring, are the season of outdoor life, terraces and beaches, while in summer life moves indoors and into air-conditioned spaces. Many owners plan their stays around this rhythm, and choose Dubai real estate with shaded terraces, pools that can be cooled and interiors that work well with the blinds down.
And anyone wanting to bring Italy into their Dubai home will find on our Made in Italy page the criteria for choosing interiors, lighting and materials suited to a much harsher climate than Europe’s.
A short glossary of Dubai real estate
People buying Dubai real estate meet words that are not used elsewhere. Here they are, briefly explained.
- Freehold. Full ownership, allowed to foreigners in the areas designated by the Dubai authorities.
- Off-plan. The property is bought before or during construction.
- Escrow. The project’s escrow account, into which off-plan payments must go by law.
- Oqood. The provisional registration of an off-plan property with the Dubai Land Department.
- Title deed. The final title of ownership, issued when the property is registered in the buyer’s name.
- NOC. The developer’s no-objection certificate, needed to resell a home in many communities.
- Service charges. The annual charges of the building or community, calculated per square metre.
- Handover. The delivery of the keys at the end of construction.
- Snagging. The inspection before handover, with the list of defects to be fixed.
Knowing these words helps you read a contract and ask the right questions: in Dubai real estate many surprises come from a term taken for granted.
Frequently asked questions about Dubai real estate
Can a foreigner buy Dubai real estate?
Yes, in the areas where freehold ownership by foreigners is allowed, which include most new neighbourhoods. The contract is registered with the Dubai Land Department as for an Emirati buyer.
How much does a home in Dubai cost in 2026?
According to the official register, the median price of an apartment sold in 2026 is AED 1.22 million (about €0.30 million); that of a villa AED 3.30 million (about €0.80 million). Prices vary greatly by area, size and project.
Is it better to buy off-plan or ready?
It depends on the use. A ready home can be checked and rented at once; an off-plan one costs less at first and is paid in instalments, but requires checks on the project, the developer and the escrow account.
What are the purchase costs?
The Dubai Land Department fee is 4% of the price plus administrative fees; add the agency commission, any mortgage costs and, every year, the service charges of the building or community.
Where do the price figures come from?
From the official sales register of the Dubai Land Department, downloaded from its open data portal. They are prices of registered sales, not asking prices in listings.
Does Elite Luxury Real Estate have relationships with developers?
Yes, and we disclose them: we work with DAMAC as an agent. Properties in Dubai are handled by the Real Estate team, with Tatiana Juma.
Do I need UAE residency to buy Dubai real estate?
No. In the areas where freehold ownership by foreigners is allowed, you buy with your passport, without residency. Residency can come afterwards, through the visa linked to property investment, if the conditions are met.
Do I have to declare a Dubai property at home?
It depends on your country. A resident of Italy, for example, declares property abroad in the RW section and, as a rule, pays IVIE; rents follow Italian tax rules. Check your situation with your tax adviser before buying.
Can I have a project's drawings checked before signing?
Yes. The lawyer reads the contract; the architect reads drawings, specifications and orientation. They are two different checks and both are needed.
Dubai real estate with Elite Luxury Real Estate: how we work
When someone asks us for help with Dubai real estate, the work always follows the same order, because it is the one that avoids the most mistakes.
- The request. You tell us use, budget, timing and areas; or you send us the listing of a property you have already seen.
- The preliminary reading. We reply with the points to check and, if needed, other Dubai real estate to compare.
- The viewing. In person with Tatiana Juma or by video, with questions prepared in advance.
- The documents. Contract, escrow account, specifications, charges: everything in writing before signing.
- Support through registration and, for off-plan homes, through handover.
At every step we tell you who is advising you and with what relationship: it is the rule by which we present all the Dubai real estate in our catalogue.
Talk to our Dubai team
If you are considering Dubai real estate, send us the link or the dossier of the property you are interested in, or tell us your budget, use and timing: the Real Estate team will reply with the points to check and the properties we know, with a concrete next step.
Already have a project in mind?
Send us the link: we will tell you what to check.
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Dubai real estate: official data, disclosed relationships, an architect’s eye.