Dubai Real Estate Market Report – Q2 2026
Dubai's property market recorded 38,257 transactions worth AED 110.36 billion in Q2 2026, with the typical deal changing hands at AED 1,715 per square foot. On the apartment, villa and commercial basis that anchors the quarter's year-on-year comparisons, volume fell 28% against Q2 2025 while value dropped 40% to AED 94.17 billion — a pronounced retreat from a year earlier.
Yet the pullback was one of quantity, not price. Value per square foot held or firmed across every category even as deal counts thinned, describing a market that is cooling in throughput while defending the pricing gains of recent years rather than surrendering them.
Headline figures
| Segment | Transactions | Value | Median price |
|---|
| All sales | 38,257 | AED 110.36 billion | AED 1,715/sqft |
| Primary (off-plan & developer) | 28,622 | AED 76.08 billion | AED 1,750/sqft |
| Resale (secondary) | 9,635 | AED 34.27 billion | AED 1,548/sqft |
Year-on-year performance by category
| Category | Volume | YoY | Value | YoY | Median price/sqft | YoY |
|---|
| Apartment | 31,895 | -22% | AED 56.55 billion | -32% | AED 1,714/sqft | 0% |
| Villa | 4,383 | -57% | AED 28.38 billion | -59% | AED 1,629/sqft | +8% |
| Commercial | 1,374 | +10% | AED 9.24 billion | +157% | AED 3,329/sqft | +91% |
Apartments remained the market's backbone at 31,895 deals, but they also drove the overall decline: volume slipped 22% — some 8,788 fewer sales than a year earlier and the lowest Q2 total since 2023 — and value fell 32% to AED 56.55 billion. What did not move was the going rate. The median apartment traded at AED 1,714 per square foot, flat year-on-year but the highest Q2 reading in the 13-year series and 38% above 2014. With the median ticket easing 8% to AED 1,183,000 against unchanged per-foot pricing, buyers appear to have gravitated toward smaller units rather than cheaper ones.
Villas saw the steepest correction of the quarter. Transactions collapsed 57% to 4,383 — 5,895 fewer than Q2 2025 and the thinnest Q2 since 2021 — dragging value down 59% to AED 28.38 billion. Pricing, however, moved the other way: the median villa fetched AED 1,629 per square foot, up 8% year-on-year and 114% above 2014, another series-high for a second quarter, while the median ticket rose 6% to AED 3,850,000. Far fewer villas changed hands, and the ones that did commanded more.
Commercial was the lone grower. Volume rose 10% to 1,374 deals — only 121 more than last year, but enough to mark the highest Q2 since 2014 — and value more than doubled, up 157% to AED 9.24 billion. The pricing shift was the most dramatic in the market: median price per square foot jumped 91% to AED 3,329 (a series high, 218% above 2014), and the median ticket climbed 75% to AED 3,083,344. The scale of those moves on a modest deal count points to a mix skewed toward larger, higher-value assets rather than a broad repricing of the whole segment.
Every category, including plots and buildings
| Category | Transactions | Value | Median price/sqft | Median price |
|---|
| Apartment | 31,895 | AED 56.55 billion | AED 1,714/sqft | AED 1,183,000 |
| Villa | 4,383 | AED 28.38 billion | AED 1,629/sqft | AED 3,850,000 |
| Plot | 593 | AED 16.03 billion | AED 761/sqft | AED 6,942,004 |
| Commercial | 1,374 | AED 9.24 billion | AED 3,329/sqft | AED 3,083,344 |
| Building | 12 | AED 159.89 million | AED 1,015/sqft | AED 924,771 |
Beyond the three headline segments, land remained a heavyweight. Just 593 plot transactions generated AED 16.03 billion — the third-largest value pool of any category — at a median ticket of AED 6,942,004, by far the largest deal size in the market, even as plots priced at only AED 761 per square foot on a per-foot basis. Whole-building sales were a niche by comparison, with 12 trades worth AED 159.89 million.
Primary versus resale
The primary, off-plan market continued to dominate, accounting for 75% of deals and 73% of value — 28,339 transactions worth AED 68.46 billion. Resale, or secondary, activity made up the balance at 25% of volume and 27% of value, or 9,313 deals worth AED 25.71 billion. That resale's share of value runs two points ahead of its share of volume signals that the average secondary sale carried a slightly higher price tag than the average new launch — a modest premium on completed, ready stock.
Where the activity was
| # | Area by value | Value | Area by volume | Transactions |
|---|
| 1 | Business Bay | AED 8.36 billion | Dubai South | 5,427 |
| 2 | Dubai South | AED 6.54 billion | Jabal Ali First | 2,579 |
| 3 | Dubai Islands | AED 5.26 billion | Al Barsha South Fourth | 2,143 |
| 4 | Jabal Ali First | AED 4.02 billion | Wadi Al Safa 5 | 1,967 |
| 5 | Wadi Al Safa 3 | AED 3.46 billion | Wadi Al Safa 3 | 1,812 |
By value, Business Bay topped the table at AED 8.36 billion, ahead of Dubai South (AED 6.54 billion), Dubai Islands (AED 5.26 billion), Jabal Ali First (AED 4.02 billion) and Wadi Al Safa 3 (AED 3.46 billion). Volume told a different story: Dubai South ran away with the count at 5,427 transactions, far ahead of runner-up Jabal Ali First (2,579), followed by Al Barsha South Fourth (2,143), Wadi Al Safa 5 (1,967) and Wadi Al Safa 3 (1,812). The contrast between Business Bay's value lead and Dubai South's volume lead captures the divide between premium central districts and high-turnover growth corridors.
Rental market
On the leasing side, renewals are doing the heavy lifting. New apartment leases were essentially flat — 32,245 contracts, barely changed year-on-year, at an unmoved median of AED 70,000 — whereas apartment renewals grew 3.48% to 41,161 contracts and their median rent rose 5.26% to AED 60,000. Villas followed the same pattern, with renewal rents jumping 9.84% to AED 165,000 against a 2.22% dip in new-lease medians to AED 176,000; commercial renewal rents advanced 7% even as new commercial contracts fell 16.16%. Across all three segments, sitting tenants faced steeper increases than the headline new-lease rates suggest — a market rewarding those who stay put over those signing fresh.
| Category | Type | Contracts | YoY | Median rent | YoY | Median rent/sqft | YoY |
|---|
| Apartment | New | 32,245 | -0.13% | AED 70,000 | 0% | AED 91/sqft | -3.19% |
| Apartment | Renewal | 41,161 | +3.48% | AED 60,000 | +5.26% | AED 73/sqft | +8.96% |
| Villa | New | 5,061 | +9.12% | AED 176,000 | -2.22% | AED 72/sqft | 0% |
| Villa | Renewal | 5,195 | +5.80% | AED 165,000 | +9.84% | AED 63/sqft | +6.78% |
| Commercial | New | 5,148 | -16.16% | AED 123,690 | +4.78% | AED 122/sqft | +4.27% |
| Commercial | Renewal | 6,984 | +3.44% | AED 120,837 | +7% | AED 107/sqft | +7% |
Supply
Supply tilted toward completion this quarter: developers delivered 14,503 units across 52 projects while launching 11,505 units across 30 — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 0.8 that left a net of 2,998 more units delivered than launched. With handovers outpacing new introductions, the quarter added more finished, occupiable stock than fresh off-plan supply, a useful counterweight for buyers seeking ready homes in a slower sales market.
Selected launches
- Omya Residences – Jabal Ali First (Pantheon), 416 units
- Coventry Residence – Saih Shuaib 2 (Gfs), 163 units
- Kyomi Residence – Warsan Fourth (Anax), 121 units
- Arlington Park Ii By Majid – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Majid Development Agency), 129 units
- Coventry Residence 3 – Saih Shuaib 2 (Gfs), 185 units
- Arancia Yards By Beyond - Building C – Wadi Al Safa 4 (Beyond), 282 units
- Oxford Cove – Al Barsha South Fourth (Iman Developers), 253 units
- Tresora By Wadan – Al Barsha South Fourth (Wadan), 160 units
- Eltiera Views - Tower 3 – Al Thanyah Fifth (Ellington), 890 units
- Oasis Tower 2 – Al Hebiah Fourth (Dubai Sports City), 444 units
- … and 20 further projects
Selected completions
- Tulip Oasis 10 – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Ame Development), 130 units
- Serenia Living - Tower 4 – Palm Jumeirah (Palma), 226 units
- Golf Vista Heights – Al Hebiah Fourth (London Gate), 209 units
- Marquis Galleria – Al Barsha South 3 (Marquis Circle), 126 units
- Parkside Views – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 389 units
- Vyb – Business Bay (Ginco), 181 units
- Nas3 – Al Barsha South 3 (Rabdan), 288 units
- Azizi Central – Jabal Ali First (Azizi), 97 units
- Zazen Ivy – Jabal Ali First (Zazen), 73 units
- Arbor View – Al Barsha South 3 (Ellington), 171 units
- … and 42 further projects
Most expensive sales
Top apartment sales
- AED 171,036,254 – Aman Residences Tower 2, Jumeirah Second
- AED 121,841,000 – Baccarat Residence T1, Downtown Dubai
- AED 112,603,000 – Solaya 5, Jumeirah First
- AED 106,048,000 – Solaya 6, Jumeirah First
- AED 70,238,323 – Aman Residences Tower 1, Jumeirah Second
Top villa sales
- AED 145,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
- AED 88,800,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
- AED 86,000,000 – Emirates Living
- AED 75,000,000 – Wadi Al Safa 3
- AED 70,300,000 – Ghadeer Al Tair
Notes on methodology
Scope. Headline totals and the category table cover every property category recorded in the data, including Plot and Building. The primary/resale split, top-area rankings and the year-on-year series cover Apartment, Villa and Commercial only, so those figures are deliberately smaller than the headline and should not be added across sections.
Rounding. Headline totals are the authoritative rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded independently and may not sum exactly to the headline.
Definitions. Price figures are medians, not averages. Year-on-year compares the period against the same period one year earlier. All values in AED; areas in square feet.