Dubai Real Estate Market Report — Q3, 2022

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – Q3 2022

Dubai's property sector produced a record-setting third quarter in 2022. With every property type counted, plots included, 25,383 transactions were concluded for AED 69.09 billion — each the strongest Q3 reading for volume and for value across the nine-year series. Measured on the narrower Apartment, Villa and Commercial basis, the 24,729 deals rose +62% from a year earlier, while their combined AED 55.90 billion advanced +65%.

Across the city the median came to rest at AED 1,173/sqft. Rather than being concentrated in a single pocket, the strength was widely spread, though apartments carried most of the load.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments powered the growth. Volume hit 17,932 deals, a +71% gain and the strongest Q3 apartment tally in the nine-year series — around 7,465 sales more than the year before. Value advanced even quicker, up +83% to AED 33.23 billion. Prices hardened alongside the volumes: the median reached AED 1,464/sqft, +17% higher year on year and +27% above 2014, a nine-year high for a third quarter. The median apartment ticket edged up +10% to AED 1,210,888.

Villas echoed the volume trend but with a pricing twist. Sales rose +37% to 5,954 — once more the highest Q3 villa figure in the series — and value gained +42% to AED 21.39 billion. Per-square-foot pricing advanced +17% to AED 926 (a Q3 record, and +39% above 2014). The median villa ticket, however, fell -8% to AED 2,081,000, suggesting the mix leaned toward smaller or more keenly priced homes even as unit pricing climbed.

Commercial grew fastest of all off a modest base: 843 deals, up +80%, with value likewise up +80% at AED 1.28 billion. Its median of AED 830/sqft ticked up a slight +4% — the best Q3 reading since 2017, yet still -22% beneath 2014. Ranked by value the categories ran apartments, villas, plots, commercial and finally a solitary building. That single building deal, at AED 14.00 million, held the biggest median ticket of any category at AED 14,000,000.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots ranked as the market's third-biggest category by value, adding AED 13.17 billion from only 653 transactions — a testament to their scale, at a median plot ticket of AED 5,246,360 and AED 429/sqft. That land value trails only apartments and villas for the quarter.

Primary versus resale

Off-plan set the pace. Primary sales represented 64% of volume and of value alike — 15,933 deals worth AED 35.52 billion — leaving resale with the other 36% on both counts, or 8,796 deals and AED 20.38 billion. The matching volume and value shares indicate primary and resale traded at broadly similar average sizes.

Where the activity was

Marsa Dubai headed the value ranking at AED 5.33 billion, just pipping Palm Jumeirah's AED 5.32 billion, with Business Bay (AED 4.86 billion), Downtown Dubai (AED 4.35 billion) and Al Hebiah Fifth (AED 4.04 billion) close behind. On transaction count Business Bay was dominant with 3,128 deals, ahead of Marsa Dubai (1,742), Al Hebiah Fifth (1,623), Al Barsha South Fourth (1,502) and Downtown Dubai (1,487). Four districts — Marsa Dubai, Business Bay, Downtown Dubai and Al Hebiah Fifth — featured on both the value and volume tables.

Rental market

Rents advanced across most segments, with a single exception. New apartment leases posted a median of AED 48,061, up +20.15%, and per-square-foot rents climbed +25% — yet apartment renewals barely moved, their median slipping -0.05% to AED 46,179 even as renewal contracts leapt +54.31%. New villa leases rose +8.51% to AED 135,000 and new commercial leases gained +12% to AED 84,000, each with double-digit per-square-foot increases. The pattern favoured landlords resetting to market on fresh contracts over those renewing existing apartment tenants.

Supply

Developers brought on more than they completed. The quarter recorded 8,840 units launched across 31 projects versus 7,628 units delivered across 27 — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 1.2 and a net of 1,212 more units launched than delivered, a sign of ongoing confidence in the forward pipeline.

Selected launches

• Myka Residence – Me'Aisem First (Myka Luxe), 120 units
• Serenia Living - Tower 4 – Palm Jumeirah (Palma), 226 units
• Ellington House – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Ellington), 150 units
• South Bay 1 – Dubai South (Dubai South), 251 units
• Ellington Beach House – Palm Jumeirah (Ellington), 129 units
• Marina Shores – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 447 units
• Damac Hills - Gems Estates 2 – Al Hebiah Third (Damac), 15 units
• Pg Upper House – Jabal Ali First (Pg Properties), 105 units
• Verdana(Phase 2) – Dubai Investment Park First (Reportage), 127 units
• Laya Heights – Al Hebiah Second (Akshara Global), 398 units
• … and 21 further projects

Selected completions

• Azizi Riviera 7 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 159 units
• Azizi Riviera 11 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 147 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Aquilegia – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 424 units
• Viridis Podium – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 871 units
• Farhad Azizi Residence – Al Jaddaf (Azizi), 681 units
• G1 – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Al Barari), 54 units
• The Grand – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 597 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Avencia-2 – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 408 units
• Binghatti Gems – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 77 units
• 17 Icon Bay – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 429 units
• … and 17 further projects

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 145,000,000 – Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, Um Suqaim Third
2. AED 50,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 1, Jumeirah Bay Islands
3. AED 42,000,000 – The Address Residence Fountain Views 3, Downtown Dubai
4. AED 38,000,000 – The Residence At Marina Gate 2, Marsa Dubai
5. AED 35,000,000 – Palme Couture Residences, Palm Jumeirah

Top villa sales

1. AED 302,500,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 210,000,000 – Emirates Living
3. AED 205,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
4. AED 115,000,000 – Jumeirah Bay Islands
5. AED 52,500,000 – Al Merkadh

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, the top-area rankings and the year-on-year series cover only Apartment, Villa and Commercial, so those numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be summed across sections.

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

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