Our editorial mission
Dubai real estate is one of the most written-about and least audited markets on the internet. Most of what foreign investors read is a developer brochure in disguise, or a news summary that never checked the RERA filing. We publish the primary-source-first alternative.
We do not publish a price without a Dubai Land Department transaction behind it. We do not call a developer “top-tier” without the RERA on-time delivery record. We do not call an area “high-yield” without the gross-yield math and the service-charge data next to it.
Our readers are foreign investors, end-users buying a home for residency, and Dubai brokers advising their own clients. We write for all three at the same level of rigour.
Sourcing standards
We rank sources in three tiers. A claim is published only when a Tier-1 or Tier-2 source supports it.
- Tier 1, primary records. Dubai Land Department (DLD) transaction data, RERA project filings and escrow numbers, Dubai REST app records, ICA / GDRFA visa rules, UAE Central Bank circulars on mortgage LTV caps, and the official gazettes that publish UAE federal decrees.
- Tier 2, accountable secondary sources.Bayut / Property Finder market reports (with named methodology), CBRE / JLL / Knight Frank Dubai research notes, and named statements from RERA-licensed brokerages on official letterhead.
- Tier 3, illustrative only. Forum threads, LinkedIn posts, and social media commentary. Used only to flag a question worth investigating; never as the basis for a published claim.
Every numerical claim links or footnotes back to its source. If a source disputes our reading, we publish the dispute next to our position.
Fact-checking process
Two people check every article before it goes live. The author files the draft with primary-source links inline.
The second reviewer is usually the founder, Javier Sanz Alvarez (RERA BRN 1573501, DLD Broker Card 92025). He checks every numerical claim against the linked source and the developer and area names against the DLD master list, then signs off on publication.
Articles quoting a transaction price, a payment plan or a payment milestone get a third pass. The figure is re-pulled from the DLD or the developer’s registered Oqood entry within 24 hours of publication. If it has shifted, we update the article and log the change at the foot of the page.
Conflict-of-interest policy
Oliva DB Properties CO. L.L.C. S.O.C. is a RERA-licensed brokerage (BRN 1573501). On an off-plan purchase the developer pays us a commission. Every fee we charge a buyer is published on How we make money.
A developer-paid commission is a conflict of interest, and we say so. Every developer profile and every project page discloses whether Oliva can earn a commission on units in that project. Each one also discloses whether the developer pays a higher- or lower-than-average rate.
Editorial scoring is walled off from commercial. The Oliva Score is calculated by a deterministic algorithm from DLD, RERA and Dubai Pulse data. Nobody can pay to move a project up the leaderboard, and there is no paid-placement product on the platform. We turn down listings if the scoring math disqualifies them.
If an editor or author has a personal stake in a project, the article carries a disclosure line at the top. That covers an own residence, a family unit or a joint venture. If the conflict is material, we reassign the author.
Update cadence
- Regulatory articles (Golden Visa, mortgage LTV, free-zone rules) are reviewed within five working days of any official UAE government circular touching the topic, and at minimum every quarter.
- Market data articles (price-per-sqft, yields, supply pipeline) are refreshed monthly against the latest DLD transaction extract and Bayut / Property Finder reports.
- Developer profiles are reviewed quarterly, or immediately when a project handover slips by more than six months from its RERA-registered completion date.
- Area guides are reviewed twice a year, or when a new metro line, school, or major project breaks ground inside the catchment.
Every article carries a “Published” and a “Last updated” date in the byline. If “Last updated” is more than 90 days old, the article is queued for review.
Corrections policy
Email editorial@joinoliva.com if you find an error: a wrong price, a wrong developer attribution, a misquoted regulation. Include the URL, the disputed claim, and the source you believe is correct. We aim to acknowledge within one working day.
Material errors are corrected at the top of the article, with a dated correction note. A material error is anything that could mislead an investment decision. Typos and broken links are fixed silently.
We never quietly delete a published claim that turned out to be wrong. The corrected version carries an explicit log entry of what changed.
AI & automation policy
We use AI for work that is mechanical and verifiable. We do not use it to form the editorial point of view. No article is published without a named human editor signing off.
- What AI does at Oliva. First-pass research synthesis, draft outlines, FAQ generation, translation between English / Spanish / Arabic / Russian / Hindi / Chinese, and the deterministic ingestion of DLD transaction extracts into our scoring pipeline.
- What humans do at Oliva. Source verification against primary records, the final scoring calls, the editorial framing, the byline, and the accountability when something is wrong.
- What we never do. Publish AI-generated market commentary as if a human wrote it; publish a translation without a native speaker reviewing the technical real-estate terminology; or use AI to fabricate quotes, transactions, or interview material.
Use of DLD & market data
Oliva ingests Dubai Land Department transaction data through the official Dubai Pulse open-data feed and licensed redistribution partners. We never republish a transaction in a way that identifies the buyer or seller. Area-level aggregates are the smallest unit we show publicly.
DLD data lags roughly seven to fourteen days between transaction registration and public release. Articles citing a “current” price-per-sqft figure name the month and year of the DLD extract, not the date of the article. RERA escrow figures and project completion percentages come from the live RERA project registry and can update intra-day.
Contact us
The right inbox depends on what you need:
- Corrections, fact-checks, editorial questions: editorial@joinoliva.com
- Press, interviews, expert commentary: press@joinoliva.com
- Research data, partnerships, syndication: research@joinoliva.com
- General investor & brokerage enquiries: use the contact page.
Oliva DB Properties CO. L.L.C. S.O.C. · RERA BRN 1573501 · DLD Broker Card 92025 · Business Bay, Dubai, UAE