Dubai Real Estate Market Report — August, 2020

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – August 2020

Dubai's sales market moved through August 2020 still in recovery, months on from the COVID-19 movement restrictions that had suspended much in-person property activity from March into mid-year. The month wrapped up with 2,449 transactions worth AED 4.68 billion at a median of AED 828/sqft across all property types.

Once plots and buildings are set aside, the core apartment, villa and commercial segments recorded 2,275 deals, up +10% year on year, with combined value of AED 3.66 billion, up +15%. Yet the headline masks a split screen: volumes bounced back to multi-year highs even as prices dropped to the softest August readings in the seven-year series.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments powered the growth. Volume rose +11% to 1,664 sales — the strongest August count since 2017, and 162 above the prior year — though total value edged -6% lower to AED 1.87 billion. Pricing explains it: the median rate slipped -9% to AED 969/sqft, the lowest August figure in the seven-year series and -20% under the 2014 base, while the median ticket fell -18% to AED 780,000. More units traded, but each at a clearly reduced price.

Villas ran the opposite way on value. Their 500 deals were up +8% and, as with apartments, marked the best August since 2017 — but total value leapt +51% to AED 1.61 billion as the median ticket climbed +25% to AED 2,195,000. Buyers were stretching for larger, upper-end homes even though the per-square-foot rate itself dropped -10% to AED 606, once more the series' lowest August reading and -12% below 2014. The pandemic's premium on space came through plainly in the villa numbers.

Commercial completed the trio with 111 transactions, up +10% and matching the since-2017 high seen right across the segments. Aggregate value grew +24% to AED 182.14 million, but its pricing was the weakest of the three: the median rate fell -19% to AED 607/sqft — down a steep -37% from 2014 — and the median ticket almost halved, off -47% to AED 572,182. The contrast between climbing aggregate value and a shrinking typical deal suggests a few larger sales carried the total.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots formed a notable part of the month beyond the core categories, adding 174 transactions worth AED 1.02 billion at a median AED 475/sqft. With a median ticket of AED 2,478,000, land traded at a higher typical value than the median apartment, villa or commercial unit.

Primary versus resale

New and secondary sales were closely matched. Primary deals claimed 56% of both volume and value — 1,274 transactions worth AED 2.04 billion — while resale made up the remaining 44% on each measure, with 1,001 deals worth AED 1.62 billion. Because the volume and value shares were identical, neither channel held a pricing premium over the other this month.

Where the activity was

The value and volume leaderboards scarcely overlapped. On value, Palm Jumeirah led at AED 336.68 million, ahead of Marsa Dubai (AED 298.28 million), Downtown Dubai (AED 293.03 million), Jumeirah Bay Islands (AED 209.98 million) and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (AED 206.25 million) — a line-up of prime waterfront and central districts. By count, the busiest area was Al Yelayiss 2 with 207 transactions, followed by Marsa Dubai (179), Al Barsha South Fourth (174), Business Bay (141) and Al Warsan First (125), where more affordable and mid-market stock turned over fastest. Only Marsa Dubai featured near the top of both lists.

Rental market

Leasing was remarkably busy even as rents fell. New apartment contracts leapt +44.81% to 10,619 and renewals +53.14% to 7,043; new villa leases rose +85.64% to 1,784 and villa renewals +97.79% to 1,434, while new commercial lets were up +42.86% to 1,220. That jump in signings ran alongside broad rent declines — the median new apartment rent slid -19.23% to AED 42,000 and the median new villa rent fell -20% to AED 112,000 — in line with tenants relocating to capture lower rates during the recovery.

Supply

Supply mirrored the pandemic pause on the launch side: no new units were launched during the month, across zero projects, while 696 units were handed over across two completed projects. With deliveries carrying on but nothing new joining the pipeline, more stock was delivered than launched.

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 14,500,000 – Palme Couture Residences, Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 13,000,000 – Serenia Residences Building B, Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 10,871,000 – Bulgari Residences 5, Jumeirah Bay Islands
4. AED 9,500,000 – Oceana Pacific, Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 8,091,000 – Bulgari Residences 6, Jumeirah Bay Islands

Top villa sales

1. AED 23,873,500 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
2. AED 22,800,000 – Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 15,500,000 – Emirates Living
4. AED 12,000,000 – Al Merkadh
5. AED 10,797,600 – Jumeirah Bay Islands

Notes on methodology

Scope. Headline totals and the category table span every property category recorded in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale split, top-area rankings and the year-on-year series cover Apartment, Villa and Commercial only, so those figures are intentionally 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.