My family and I are moving over to Dubai in June and we are starting to have a look at property options.  Rental prices look pretty expensive so my question is do you think it would be better to buy?  We would be looking to rent or buy a family home with at least 3 bedrooms and a small garden for the children.

I agree, renting in Dubai is expensive and to rent an average 3 bedroom family home in Dubai will cost you about AED 200 per year.  However, before buying you need to ask yourself how long you plan to stay in Dubai, be confident that your job will work out and that your family is going to be happy as buying properties in Dubai involves paying a lot of fees in addition to the sale price.

These fees include a  4% registration fee (the rule is that the buyer and seller should split this fee however in many cases it is actually the buyer that is paying the whole amount ie 4%) .  Then there is the brokerage fee which is usually about 2%.  I would strongly recommend you rent for a year and see how you feel about your job, life in Dubai and this also gives you a chance to figure out which area you would like to buy in.