Dubai Real Estate Market Report — December, 2022

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – December 2022

Dubai ended 2022 with a December for the record books. Across all property types the emirate logged 9,073 property transactions totalling AED 25.39 billion, at an all-type median of AED 1,378/sqft. Excluding plots and buildings, the apartment, villa and commercial market delivered 8,742 deals worth AED 21.00 billion — a 62% rise in volume and a 67% gain in value versus December 2021.

The gains were widespread yet uneven. Apartments powered the advance, contributing most of the additional deals, while villas and commercial units each recorded their own annual increases in both count and price. Transaction volume and value alike reached record highs for the month.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments carried the load. The segment logged 6,695 transactions, a 71% year-on-year rise and 2,782 more deals than in December a year earlier — the busiest December in the nine-year series. Value advanced 70% to AED 13.60 billion, and the median touched AED 1,705/sqft, 24% higher on the year and 38% above the 2014 base, again a series high for the month. The median apartment ticket rose a milder 13% to AED 1,321,000, a gentler ascent than the per-foot rate.

Villas leaned harder on pricing. Deals climbed 38% to 1,779 — 491 more than the previous December and a nine-year high for the month — while value surged 58% to AED 6.95 billion. In percentage terms villa prices outpaced apartments: the median reached AED 1,090/sqft, up 33% on the year and 30% above 2014, and the median ticket rose 26% to AED 2,648,800. Both the deal count and the per-foot figure set series highs for the month.

Commercial was the smallest segment yet the quickest to grow by value. Its 268 transactions — up 42%, the best December since 2014 — carried AED 448.34 million, a 125% jump on the year. The median ticket climbed 45% to AED 995,169 and the per-foot median added 23% to reach AED 925/sqft, the highest December level since 2017. Tellingly, commercial is still the only segment whose per-foot pricing trails its 2014 mark — 27% below it — leaving room to recoup before it regains the baseline the residential categories passed long ago.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots, which fall outside the apartment-villa-commercial totals above, contributed a further 331 transactions worth AED 4.39 billion — more total value than the whole commercial segment and the highest median ticket of any category at AED 3,750,000. With a median of AED 613/sqft, land changes hands on a very different price footing from built stock, which is why it stays out of the category comparisons.

Primary versus resale

Off-plan set the pace. Primary, or developer, sales made up 5,450 deals — 62% of apartment, villa and commercial volume — and AED 13.65 billion, a marginally larger 65% slice of value. Resale accounted for the remaining 3,292 deals (38%) and AED 7.34 billion (35% of value), so secondary transactions ran slightly smaller on average than new sales.

Where the activity was

On value, Palm Jumeirah came first with AED 2.37 billion, narrowly ahead of Marsa Dubai at AED 2.30 billion, followed by Al Merkadh at AED 1.49 billion, Business Bay at AED 1.36 billion and Al Hebiah Fifth at AED 1.33 billion. The volume ranking tilts more toward the mid-market: Al Merkadh headed the list with 974 deals, ahead of Business Bay (821), Marsa Dubai (793), Al Barsha South Fourth (608) and Al Hebiah Fifth (477). Palm Jumeirah's absence from the volume leaders highlights its part as a high-ticket enclave where a handful of large deals lift the value ranking.

Rental market

The rental market divided sharply between new and renewed leases. New apartment contracts totalled 17,272 (up 52.40%) at a median AED 48,000, a 20% yearly increase, whereas the 18,673 renewals (up 149.97%) stayed close to flat at AED 46,000, up a mere 2.22% — the familiar divide between fresh market rents and rent-index-shielded renewals. The pattern repeated across segments: new villa leases advanced 16.88% to a median AED 135,000 against a 2.77% renewal rise to AED 130,000, and new commercial leases rose 25.12% to AED 89,875 versus 2% on renewals at AED 81,600. Tenants signing new contracts bore the premium; those renewing were largely protected.

Supply

Supply remained balanced. Developers launched 4,834 units across 16 projects and handed over 4,686 units from 8 completed projects — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 1.0, with only 148 more units joining the pipeline than leaving it. New stock is arriving at roughly the rate existing projects complete, rather than outpacing deliveries.

Launched

• Oakley Square Residences - Tower B – Al Barsha South Fourth (Ellington), 269 units
• Binghatti Nova – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 211 units
• Marina Living – Marsa Dubai (Continental Investments), 208 units
• Luma22 - West Tower – Al Barsha South Fourth (Townx), 430 units
• Seascape - Building 4 – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Emaar), 395 units
• Forum Residences – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Varnada), 46 units
• Seslia Tower – Al Barsha South Fifth (Tiger), 381 units
• Azizi Riviera Azure – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 137 units
• The Autograph - South Place – Al Barsha South Fourth (Green Properties), 284 units
• Vincitore Volare – Al Barsha South 3 (Vincitore), 415 units
• Binghatti Corner – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 727 units
• Ascot Residences – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 154 units
• Chorisia 2 Villas – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Abwab), 57 units
• Harbour Lights – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Damac), 297 units
• Elitz By Danube - 2 – Al Barsha South Fourth (Danube), 592 units
• Prive Residence – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Ginco), 231 units

Delivered

• Parkside 3 – Dubai South (Emaar), 365 units
• Navitas Tower B – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 1,155 units
• O10 – Al Jaddaf (Aqua Properties), 131 units
• Golf Suites – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 223 units
• Private Residences Dubai – Jumeirah Second (Private Owner), 54 units
• Act One Act Two Tower 2 – Downtown Dubai (Emaar), 841 units
• Downtown Views Ii T3 – Zaabeel Second (Emaar), 1,523 units
• Vida Residences Dubai Marina – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 394 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 60,808,800 – Palm Beach Towers- 3, Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 53,630,529 – Mr C Residences Jumeirah - Block B3, Jumeirah Second
3. AED 50,044,256 – Mr C Residences Jumeirah - Block B2, Jumeirah Second
4. AED 42,000,000 – Le Ciel - Building 1, Jumeirah First
5. AED 35,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 4, Jumeirah Bay Islands

Top villa sales

1. AED 85,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 45,070,000 – Al Hebiah Fourth
3. AED 43,750,000 – Me'Aisem First
4. AED 35,400,000 – Wadi Al Safa 3
5. AED 35,000,000 – Emirates Living

Notes on methodology

Scope. 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 only, so those figures are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be summed across sections.

Rounding. Headline totals are the authoritative rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded separately and may not add up exactly to the headline.

Definitions. Price figures are medians rather than averages. Year-on-year compares a period with the same period twelve months earlier. All values in AED; areas in square feet.