Dubai Real Estate Market Report — May, 2022

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – May 2022

May 2022 ranked as Dubai's strongest month ever for property, as 6,576 transactions worth AED 18.36 billion traded across every property type — an all-time peak on both volume and value. On the Apartment, Villa and Commercial basis, 6,307 deals (up 50% year on year) produced AED 15.50 billion, a 62% rise, while the citywide median steadied at AED 1,209/sqft.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments drove the expansion. Their 4,618 sales — up 57% year on year and 1,670 above the prior year — represented the highest May volume in the nine-year series, and value more than doubled to AED 9.66 billion (+114%). The median price climbed to AED 1,597/sqft, up 54% on the year and 32% over the 2014 base, itself the highest May price per square foot in the series. The median apartment ticket rose 44% to AED 1,319,371.

Villas contributed 1,532 sales (+38%, 420 more than last May), also the highest May volume in the series, with value up 22% to AED 5.58 billion. Villa pricing firmed to AED 946/sqft, up 20% on the year and 40% above 2014 — likewise a series-high May reading. The one departure from the month's broad strength was the median villa ticket, which slipped 16% to AED 2,000,000 even as per-square-foot pricing advanced.

Commercial was the smaller story: 157 deals (+11%, the highest May volume since 2019), though value dropped 47% to AED 259.10 million. Commercial pricing rose 19% to AED 847/sqft — the highest May reading since 2017 — yet stays 19% below its 2014 level, while the median ticket ticked up 12% to AED 783,063. Ordered by total value the categories ran Apartment, Villa, Plot and Commercial, though plots carried the largest median ticket of any category at AED 4,527,231 across 269 deals worth AED 2.87 billion.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots added 269 sales worth AED 2.87 billion and held the highest median ticket of any category at AED 4,527,231, placing third by total value behind apartments and villas.

Primary versus resale

New-build activity paced the market. Primary sales made up 61% of volume and 60% of value — 3,845 deals worth AED 9.23 billion — while resale delivered 2,462 transactions (39% of volume) and AED 6.26 billion, a fractionally larger 40% value share.

Where the activity was

Downtown Dubai headed the value table at AED 1.88 billion, ahead of Palm Jumeirah (AED 1.71 billion), Marsa Dubai (AED 1.39 billion), Business Bay (AED 1.29 billion) and Al Hebiah Fifth (AED 846.90 million). On deal count Business Bay led with 760 transactions, followed by Downtown Dubai (540) and Marsa Dubai (526). Downtown Dubai, Marsa Dubai, Business Bay and Al Hebiah Fifth featured on both the value and volume leaderboards; Palm Jumeirah made the leaders on value alone.

Rental market

Rents mostly moved higher. New apartment leases held a median of AED 46,000, up 15%, though renewal rents eased 4.44% to AED 43,000 — even as renewal contract volume surged 59.19% and new contracts slipped 1.89%. New villa rents rose 4.35% to AED 120,000 while villa renewals held flat at AED 125,000. Commercial leasing was strongest of all, with new rents up 28.04% to AED 89,625 and renewals up 7.13% to AED 75,790.

Supply

Developers launched 4,193 units across 12 projects while 5 projects delivered 771 units — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 5.4 and a net 3,422 more units launched than handed over, a decidedly forward-loaded pipeline.

Launched

• Mudon Al Ranim 1 – Al Hebiah Sixth (Dubai Properties), 224 units
• Welcome Residency – Al Barsha South 3 (Al Seeb), 94 units
• One Za'Abeel Tower – Zaabeel First (Ithra Dubai), 1,034 units
• Nad Al Sheba Gardens Phase 2 – Nad Al Sheba First (Meraas), 215 units
• Azizi Riviera 42 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 185 units
• Damac Lagoons - Venice (1) – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 424 units
• Gemz By Danube – Jabal Ali First (Danube), 279 units
• Ava At Palm Jumeirah By Omniyat – Palm Jumeirah (Omniyat), 17 units
• Verdana (Phase 1) – Dubai Investment Park First (Reportage), 177 units
• Luxury Family Residence – Al Barsha South Fourth (Kappa Acca), 417 units
• Damac Lagoons - Malta (1) – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 760 units
• Damac Lagoons - Malta (2) – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 367 units

Delivered

• Regina – Al Barsha South Fourth (Tiger), 332 units
• Elz Residence – Al Barsha South 3 (Danube), 275 units
• Amaranta 1 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Dubai Properties), 141 units
• Damac Hills - The Trump Estates 2 – Al Hebiah Third (Damac), 10 units
• Damac Hills - The Trump Estates 3 – Al Hebiah Third (Damac), 13 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 42,000,000 – Le Ciel - Building 1, Jumeirah First
2. AED 22,903,885 – Mr C Residences Jumeirah - Block B3, Jumeirah Second
3. AED 22,500,000 – Bulgari Residences 4, Jumeirah Bay Islands
4. AED 20,000,000 – Mr C Residences Jumeirah - Block B1, Jumeirah Second
5. AED 19,200,000 – Serenia Residences Building B, Palm Jumeirah

Top villa sales

1. AED 128,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
2. AED 102,800,000 – Emirates Living
3. AED 54,000,000 – Al Merkadh
4. AED 41,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 26,500,000 – Me'Aisem First

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and the category table take in every property category captured in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale breakdown, the top-area rankings and the year-on-year series relate to Apartment, Villa and Commercial alone, so those numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and must not be summed across sections.

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

Definitions. All price figures are medians rather than averages. Year-on-year sets the period against the same period twelve months before. Every value is in AED and all areas are in square feet.