Dubai Real Estate Market Report — April, 2021

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – April 2021

April 2021 sat squarely inside Dubai's first full post-lockdown year, and the month's figures show a market decisively throwing off the previous spring's freeze. Across every property type, 4,822 transactions changed hands for a combined AED 11.00 billion, at a median of AED 912/sqft.

On the narrower Apartment, Villa and Commercial basis, volume reached 4,545 deals, up 166% on April 2020, while value rose 176% to AED 8.91 billion. With restrictions easing and international buyers coming back, this was less an ordinary spring than a rebound off a pandemic-suppressed base.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments powered the expansion by sheer weight of activity. The segment logged 2,920 transactions, up 120% year-on-year and 1,591 more deals than April 2020 — the highest April volume since 2016. Value climbed 102% to AED 4.26 billion. Yet the price story ran the opposite way: the median cooled 29% to AED 1,055/sqft (18% below its 2014 level), and the median ticket slipped 33% to AED 857,400. Apartments led on count, not on pricing.

Villas told the reverse story and, despite far fewer deals, headed the value ranking. Villa transactions leapt 306% to 1,364 — the highest April volume in the eight-year series — and value surged 312% to AED 4.43 billion, edging ahead of apartments even though apartments recorded more than twice the transactions. The gap traces to the ticket: the villa median stood at AED 1,822,944 (up 2%), against AED 857,400 for apartments. Villa pricing also firmed, the median reaching AED 785/sqft, up 15% and the highest April price per square foot since 2018.

Commercial was the fastest riser off the smallest base, with 261 deals up 507% — the highest April volume since 2014 — and value up 324% to AED 222.00 million. Notably, prices did not shift uniformly across the three categories: villa (+15%) and commercial (+4%) price per square foot both rose, while apartment pricing fell (-29%). Commercial's median ticket, though, dropped 49% to AED 507,432, a sign the volume rebound tilted toward smaller units.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Beyond the three core categories, plots accounted for 277 transactions worth AED 2.10 billion at a median of AED 491/sqft. With a median ticket of AED 2,728,000, plots carried the largest median ticket of any category — ahead of villas, apartments and commercial — reflecting the land-parcel nature of these deals.

Primary versus resale

Primary sales led on activity, taking 60% of volume (2,729 deals worth AED 4.79 billion), while resale accounted for 40% (1,816 deals worth AED 4.11 billion). Resale punched above its weight on value, however, contributing 46% of value from just 40% of volume — a six-point gap that points to higher average tickets in the secondary market.

Where the activity was

Marsa Dubai led both league tables, topping value at AED 1.17 billion and volume at 470 transactions. Two areas featured on both the value and volume lists: Marsa Dubai and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (the latter at AED 1.11 billion and 411 deals). Palm Jumeirah ranked among the top for value at AED 1.10 billion, while Al Thanyah Fifth (302) and Al Barsha South Fourth (280) powered volume without breaking into the value leaders.

Rental market

Rental contract counts surged across every segment off the depressed 2020 base — new apartment leases alone reached 9,970, up 278.08%. Pricing was mixed: apartment rents softened, with the new-lease median at AED 40,000 (down 8.05%) and renewals at AED 45,000 (down 17.51%), whereas new villa leases firmed to a median AED 120,000 (up 9.09%). Commercial ran both ways, with new-lease medians up 11.45% to AED 72,000 but renewals down 18.90% to AED 70,000.

Supply

Supply tilted toward completions: 895 units launched across 6 projects against 2,195 units delivered across 7 projects, a launch-to-delivery ratio of 0.4. The net effect was 1,300 more units delivered than launched, adding finished stock to the market during the rebound.

Launched

• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , A Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 38 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City, District One Phase Iii, Residences 7 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 136 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , Residences 23 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 53 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , Residences 24 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 53 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , Residences 22 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 53 units
• Palace Beach Residence Tower 2 – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 562 units

Delivered

• Alandalus Building G – Me'Aisem First (Jumeirah Golf Estates), 29 units
• Alandalus Building E – Me'Aisem First (Jumeirah Golf Estates), 155 units
• 52|42 Tower 2 – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 545 units
• Miraclz Tower – Al Barsha South 3 (Danube), 599 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Sycamore – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 184 units
• Azizi Mina – Palm Jumeirah (Azizi), 196 units
• Una Apartments B – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 487 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 23,500,000 – Balqis Residence - Beach Villas, Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 22,210,000 – Bulgari Residences 2, Jumeirah Bay Islands
3. AED 21,000,000 – Bluewaters Residences 6, Marsa Dubai
4. AED 20,750,000 – Palme Couture Residences, Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 20,510,500 – Bulgari Residences 1, Jumeirah Bay Islands

Top villa sales

1. AED 105,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 72,380,000 – Emirates Living
3. AED 53,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
4. AED 23,000,000 – Me'Aisem First
5. AED 21,500,000 – Wadi Al Safa 3

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and the category table span every property category captured 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 alone, so those figures are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be added across sections.

Rounding. The headline totals are the authoritative rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded on their own and may not sum exactly to the headline.

Definitions. Price figures are medians rather than averages. Year-on-year sets the period against the same period twelve months before. All values are in AED; areas in square feet.