Dubai Real Estate Market Report — June, 2021

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – June 2021

June 2021 was the first June of Dubai's complete post-lockdown rebound, and the numbers depict a market that had shifted from near-standstill back to full pace. The month logged 6,264 total transactions worth AED 14.69 billion at a median of AED 1,003/sqft — the strongest June on record for both volume and value in this series.

Reduced to the Apartment, Villa and Commercial basis, the 6,011 deals climbed +184% on June 2020 and their AED 12.63 billion value grew +270%. These are remarkable gains, yet they sit against an exceptionally weak benchmark: twelve months earlier the market was still frozen by lockdown, so much of the percentage lift gauges how far activity had dropped rather than any surge above normal levels.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments powered the growth. The segment recorded 4,148 sales — the highest June volume in the 8-year series and 2,512 above the year before — for AED 6.10 billion, up +194% in value. The median apartment traded at AED 1,196/sqft, +13% year on year, though that remains -2% under the 2014 benchmark; the median ticket of AED 1,000,000 ran +26% higher. In essence, the apartment recovery was overwhelmingly about volume, with pricing firming but not yet back to its level at the start of the series.

Villas tell a different and, in parts, stronger story. Volumes hit 1,590 — up +271% and, as with apartments, a June record for the series — while value rose +379% to AED 6.23 billion, enough to pip apartments on total value despite far fewer deals. What distinguishes villas is price: the median of AED 840/sqft gained +25% and sat +8% above 2014, the highest June price per square foot in the series. With the median villa ticket at AED 2,900,000 (+55%), this is where the post-lockdown flight to space and ownership is most visible.

Commercial, the smallest segment, produced the punchiest percentages off the lowest base. Its 273 deals were up +406% — the highest June volume since 2015 — and value jumped +577% to AED 303.27 million. Pricing of AED 710/sqft added +26% and set the highest June reading since 2018, yet it stays -29% below the 2014 level, a reminder that commercial has the longest journey ahead. The median commercial ticket came to AED 787,408, +41% above a year earlier.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Beyond the three core property types, land also traded briskly: 253 plot transactions added AED 2.06 billion in value at a median of AED 499/sqft, with a typical plot ticket of AED 3,275,000. Plots fall outside the Apartment/Villa/Commercial basis but count toward the headline totals, and their weighty tickets help account for the gap between the AED 12.63 billion Apartment-Villa-Commercial value and the AED 14.69 billion market-wide figure.

Primary versus resale

On the Apartment/Villa/Commercial basis, off-plan led the market: primary sales accounted for 63% of volume and 56% of value — 3,793 deals worth AED 7.08 billion. Resale made up the remaining 2,218 deals, or 37% of volume, but a larger 44% of value at AED 5.55 billion. That 7-point gap between resale's share of value and its share of volume shows completed, ready stock trading at higher average prices than new launches.

Where the activity was

Geographically, value gathered on the waterfront and prestige communities while volume clustered in the high-density districts. Palm Jumeirah led on value with AED 1.66 billion, ahead of Marsa Dubai at AED 1.33 billion and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid at AED 1.09 billion, with Al Merkadh (AED 974.13 million) and Downtown Dubai (AED 737.38 million) rounding out the top five. On deal count, Al Merkadh led with 765 transactions, followed by Marsa Dubai (545), Al Thanyah Fifth (520), Business Bay (442) and Al Warsan First (337). Al Merkadh and Marsa Dubai were the only areas to rank near the top on both value and volume.

Rental market

Leasing volumes recovered but rents told a divided story. Apartments saw 10,984 new contracts (+40.07%), yet the median new-lease rent slid to AED 40,500, down -7.95% year on year, and renewals were weaker still at a median AED 48,000 (-12.73%). Villas moved the opposite way: the median new villa lease rose +14.29% to AED 120,000, echoing the sales-side appetite for space. Commercial leasing firmed too, with new median rents of AED 68,154 (+13.59%) across 1,566 new contracts. The pattern mirrors the sales market — tenants vying for villas even as apartment rents kept softening.

Supply

On supply, completions ran ahead of new launches. Developers delivered 3,334 units across 6 projects while launching 1,687 units across 8, a launch-to-delivery ratio of 0.5 and a net of 1,647 more units delivered than launched. With demand at record strength, a month that added more finished stock than fresh off-plan supply helps explain why prices firmed rather than spiked.

Launched

• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One, B Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 161 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One B Extension Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 67 units
• Palm Hills – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 76 units
• Aura – Al Hebiah Fourth (Majid Al Futtaim), 808 units
• Arabain Ranches Lll - Bliss – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Emaar), 332 units
• La Sirene - Building 4 – Jumeirah First (Meraas), 144 units
• Sobha Hartland Villas Phase Iii – Al Merkadh (Sobha), 55 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One- C Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 44 units

Delivered

• Damac Hills (2) - Pacifica – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 640 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Albizia – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 604 units
• Downtown Views – Zaabeel Second (Emaar), 607 units
• One At Palm Jumeirah – Palm Jumeirah (Omniyat), 99 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Vardon – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 692 units
• Bloom Heights B – Al Barsha South Fourth (Bloom Property), 692 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 42,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 3, Jumeirah Bay Islands
2. AED 24,700,000 – Palme Couture Residences, Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 20,565,916 – The Address Residences Dubai Opera T1, Downtown Dubai
4. AED 17,300,000 – Bulgari Residences 2, Jumeirah Bay Islands
5. AED 16,430,000 – Bulgari Residences 5, Jumeirah Bay Islands

Top villa sales

1. AED 330,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 57,000,000 – Emirates Living
3. AED 40,000,000 – Al Merkadh
4. AED 32,228,052 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
5. AED 25,852,000 – Me'Aisem First

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 numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be summed across sections.

Rounding. The headline totals are the definitive rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded on their own and may not add up precisely to the headline.

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