Dubai Real Estate Market Report — January, 2022

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – January 2022

Dubai's property market began 2022 in full flight. January registered 5,694 transactions valued at AED 16.36 billion — a record on each measure — with the market resting at a median of AED 1,105/sqft.

Leaving plots and buildings aside, the apartment, villa and commercial segments on their own recorded 5,518 deals, 81% above January 2021, and AED 12.21 billion in value, a 128% year-on-year rise. That benchmark sits against a market still hesitant twelve months before, and the scale of the leap shows how decisively sentiment had shifted.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments carried the load. The segment recorded 3,714 transactions, up 79% year-on-year and 1,644 deals ahead of the previous January, its strongest January volume in the nine-year series. Value grew faster still, up 178% to AED 7.27 billion, as the median settled at AED 1,404/sqft — a 39% annual gain, the highest January price per square foot the series has ever logged and 36% above the 2014 base. The median apartment ticket rose 41% to AED 1,150,848.

Villas ran hotter still on volume, with 1,630 deals up 94% year-on-year — another series-best January — for AED 4.70 billion, an 85% increase. Per-square-foot pricing advanced 20% to AED 859/sqft, the best January reading since 2015 and 18% above 2014. The sole counter-current: the median villa ticket slipped 7% to AED 1,908,800, so buyers paid more per foot yet wrote smaller cheques in total.

Commercial was the softest of the three segments by value at AED 234.91 million, up 15%, across 174 transactions (+18%), its strongest January turnout since 2017. Pricing firmed 10% to AED 795/sqft, the highest January figure since 2018, though it stays the exception against the 2014 baseline — still 19% beneath it, whereas apartments and villas both sit comfortably above theirs. The median commercial ticket was all but flat, up 2% at AED 738,473.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots punched far above their deal count. A mere 176 transactions produced AED 4.16 billion, ranking land third by value across all property types, and the segment held the market's biggest median ticket by a wide margin at AED 5,000,000 — a reflection of the large-lot, developer-scale character of plot buying rather than the volume narrative unfolding in apartments and villas.

Primary versus resale

Off-plan set the pace, capturing 71% of volume and 68% of value on 3,906 deals worth AED 8.36 billion. Resale made up 1,612 deals and AED 3.85 billion, and the mix here is revealing: resale's 32% value share sat three points above its 29% volume share, indicating secondary-market sales leaned toward higher-ticket homes.

Where the activity was

On value, Marsa Dubai topped the list at AED 1.62 billion, trailed by Palm Jumeirah (AED 1.08 billion), Business Bay (AED 997.72 million), Downtown Dubai (AED 948.71 million) and Al Hebiah Fifth (AED 792.66 million). By volume the ranking rearranges, with Business Bay in front at 568 transactions, ahead of Marsa Dubai (527), Jabal Ali First (392), Al Hebiah Fifth (387) and Al Merkadh (354). Three districts — Marsa Dubai, Business Bay and Al Hebiah Fifth — feature on both lists, pairing depth of activity with headline value.

Rental market

The rental market divided along a clear seam: new-lease rents climbed while renewals eased. New apartment leases totalled 10,868 (down 5.75%) at a median of AED 42,000, up 5%, whereas the 8,067 apartment renewals (up 33.49%) saw their median dip 6.25% to AED 45,000. Villas echoed the pattern — a new median of AED 120,000 (+4.35%) against a renewal median of AED 129,059 (-0.72%). Commercial was the standout, its new-lease median up 23.99% to AED 80,593 and rent per square foot up 25% to AED 80/sqft.

Supply

Developers kept the initiative: 2,912 units launched across 10 projects versus 2,346 units delivered from 7, a launch-to-delivery ratio of 1.2 and a net 566 more units launched than handed over.

Launched

• Peninsula Five - 3 – Business Bay (Select Group), 408 units
• Arabian Ranches Lll - Elie Saab Ll – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Emaar), 131 units
• The Pulse Beachfront 2 – Dubai South (Dubai South), 198 units
• Tilal Al Furjan- Phase Two – Jabal Ali First (Nakheel), 246 units
• Gardenia Townhomes Ii – Jabal Ali First (Jag Development), 92 units
• Tilal Al Furjan- Phase One – Jabal Ali First (Nakheel), 235 units
• La Violeta 1 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Dubai Properties), 244 units
• Catch Residences By Igo – Al Barsha South Fourth (Invest Group Overseas), 140 units
• Ahad Residences – Business Bay (Ahad), 357 units
• Damac Lagoons - Portofino – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 861 units

Delivered

• Collective Tower 2 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 476 units
• Binghatti Gate – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 132 units
• Villa Amalfi – Jumeirah Bay Islands (Meraas), 68 units
• Zazen One – Al Barsha South Fifth (Zazen), 86 units
• Sobha Creek Vistas ? Tower A – Al Merkadh (Sobha), 799 units
• Wilton Terraces Ii – Al Merkadh (Ellington), 283 units
• Azizi Star – Jabal Ali First (Azizi), 502 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 50,000,000 – Jumeirah Living Marsa Al Arab, Um Suqaim Third
2. AED 48,000,000 – Palme Couture Residences, Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 21,647,015 – Mr C Residences Jumeirah - Block B1, Jumeirah Second
4. AED 20,000,000 – Balqis Residence - Beach Villas, Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 18,500,000 – Bluewaters Residences 3, Marsa Dubai

Top villa sales

1. AED 87,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 50,000,000 – Emirates Living
3. AED 43,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
4. AED 33,000,000 – Me'Aisem First
5. AED 25,335,000 – Al Thanyah Third

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 breakdown, top-area rankings and the year-on-year series take in Apartment, Villa and Commercial alone, so those numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and shouldn't be summed across sections.

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

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