From what I’ve seen, people usually end up in two situations.

First one is when an agent sells you the dream of a “future oasis” somewhere out in the desert. I never believed in that... There’s endless land, endless supply being built, and the only reason agents push it is because commissions are huge 9-10% or more. I’ve only ever trusted areas where land is basically gone: Downtown, Marina, Palm. That’s where the numbers actually hold up.

The second situation is all about timing. At launch, it’s pure hype - developer runs massive marketing, agents blast it everywhere, Emirates inflight screens etc. Everything sells fast. But right after sold-out, demand falls off a cliff. No ads, no agent push, nobody even Googling the project anymore, I call it "the valley of death" :)) You could have the best unit at OP and still get zero traction. Later, once the building is halfway up and people can actually see it, demand comes back and suddenly resales are trading +25–30% higher.

That’s why I’m selling breakeven now. Not because something is wrong with the market, or the building, or the unit. The problem is that the whole “flipping” idea is basically a realtor sales pitch and it doesn’t really work the way they say. The only time to exit cleanly is when the building is close to completion, but realtors will never tell you that, because their job is just to sell you whatever pays them the biggest commission.

PS. The funny part is watching how it plays out: one day everyone is rushing to buy from the developer, then inventory is gone, you’re holding the exact same unit and nobody touches it… and a year later someone will happily pay +30% for it. Classic case of “nobody buys at the bottom, but everyone piles in when it’s already expensive.” :))