Dubai Real Estate Market Report — March, 2023

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – March 2023

Dubai's property market produced its best March on record in 2023, with 12,070 transactions worth AED 34.19 billion trading across all property types. Setting plots aside, the apartment, villa and commercial segments alone made up 11,799 deals — up 47% on March 2022 — and AED 27.31 billion of value, a 43% year-on-year gain.

The headline conceals a market moving two ways at once. Apartment volumes climbed to a new series high even as per-square-foot pricing eased, while villas turned scarcer and more expensive. Across all sales, the median price came to AED 1,279/sqft.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments drove the expansion. The segment recorded 9,140 transactions, a 69% leap on the previous March and the highest March volume in the 10-year series — 3,720 more deals than a year before. Value rose faster still, up 74% to AED 16.82 billion. The price story, however, went the other way: the median value per square foot fell 10% year-on-year to AED 1,388/sqft (still 10% above the 2014 base), and the median ticket softened 4% to AED 1,183,071. The pattern suggests volume was fuelled by a wave of more affordable, off-plan-led stock rather than by rising prices.

Villas ran the opposite way. Volume was broadly flat — 2,327 sales, down 1% and only 32 short of a year earlier, making it the sole category to lose ground on the year. Scarcity, though, came through in price: the median reached AED 1,116/sqft, up 11% and the highest March reading in the 10-year series, while the median ticket rose 18% to AED 2,497,000. Total villa value still grew 9% to AED 9.85 billion in spite of the thinner deal count.

Commercial property, modest in absolute size, was the quiet standout. Its 332 transactions were up 24% — the highest March volume since 2014 — and value jumped 52% to AED 641.79 million. In contrast to apartments, pricing firmed here as well: the median rose 21% to AED 1,071/sqft, the strongest March figure since 2015, and the median ticket climbed 35% to AED 1,100,000.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots made a notable contribution to the month's value total. A mere 271 transactions produced AED 6.88 billion — well clear of the whole commercial segment — at a median ticket of AED 5,500,000 and a median AED 588/sqft. Packing that much capital into so few land deals points to enduring developer appetite for future supply.

Primary versus resale

Primary sales led the market, taking 60% of volume and 56% of value — 7,052 deals worth AED 15.25 billion. Resale made up the remaining 4,747 transactions and AED 12.07 billion. Tellingly, resale punched above its weight on value, capturing 44% of the total on just 40% of deals, a sign that secondary-market activity leaned towards higher-priced, completed assets.

Where the activity was

By value, Marsa Dubai (Dubai Marina) led with AED 3.43 billion, ahead of Palm Jumeirah at AED 2.37 billion, Dubai Creek Harbour at AED 1.85 billion, Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid at AED 1.82 billion and Business Bay at AED 1.66 billion. Ranked by transaction count the picture changed: Al Barsha South Fourth (JVC) dominated with 1,611 deals — comfortably ahead of Marsa Dubai's 963 and Business Bay's 912 — underlining its role as the market's affordable-apartment engine.

Rental market

The rental market showed clear inflation, particularly on new leases. New apartment contracts dropped 9.39% to 10,957, yet the median new-lease rent rose 11.11% to AED 50,000 and rent per square foot surged 26.42% — a gap that helps explain why renewals rose 20.42% to 11,977 as tenants stayed put to sidestep re-pricing. Villas ran hotter again, with new-lease medians up 25.54% to AED 145,000. Commercial new leases took the same shape: volumes down 12.86% but median rents up 15.87% to AED 92,698.

Supply

Supply stayed firmly in launch mode. Developers rolled out 9,249 units across 31 projects while handing over 2,353 units from 7 finished projects — a launch-to-delivery ratio of about 3.9 and a net addition of 6,896 units to the future pipeline. The imbalance signals confidence in demand ahead, but also a widening gap between what is selling today and what is ready to occupy.

Launched

• Pier 8 – Marsa Dubai (Al Reem), 341 units
• Creek Beach - Savanna Building 3 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 643 units
• Design Quarter - Tower C – Zaabeel Second (Meraas), 558 units
• One Crescent – Palm Jumeirah (Ahs Canal), 25 units
• Hadley Heights – Al Barsha South Fourth (Leos), 219 units
• Al Waleed Garden 2 – Al Jaddaf (Al Waleed), 173 units
• Canal Heights 2 – Business Bay (Damac), 505 units
• Talia Residences – Jabal Ali First (Deyaar), 161 units
• Eome – Palm Jumeirah (Blue Haven), 24 units
• Mar Casa – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Deyaar), 585 units
• Bianca – Wadi Al Safa 2 (Reportage), 653 units
• Elevate By Prescott – Al Barsha South 3 (Prescott), 223 units
• Park Views Residences B – Al Kifaf (Wasl), 476 units
• Jomana 8 – Um Suqaim Third (Meraas), 285 units
• La Perla Homes 12 – Al Barsha South Fourth (G H D), 18 units
• Maya Townhouses – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Tanmiyat), 30 units
• Creek Waters – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 453 units
• Westar Azure – Al Barsha South Fourth (Westar), 13 units
• Terraces Marasi Drive – Business Bay (Keymaven), 128 units
• The Regent – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 238 units
• Canal Heights – Business Bay (Damac), 415 units
• Mag 330 – Wadi Al Safa 4 (Mag), 679 units
• Golden Wood Views 5 – Al Barsha South Fourth (Golden Wood), 161 units
• Arabian Ranches Lll - Anya 2 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Emaar), 362 units
• Creek Beach - Moor Building 4 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 194 units
• Me Do Re – Al Thanyah Fifth (Me Do Re), 394 units
• Niki Lauda B – Business Bay (Define Properties), 384 units
• Verdana Residence – Dubai Investment Park First (Reportage), 224 units
• Binghatti Emerald – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 328 units
• Zaya Zuha Island – World Islands (Zaya), 28 units
• Golf Grand – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 329 units

Delivered

• Surf At Creek Beach Building 2 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 180 units
• Bayshore At Creek Beach Building 4 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 320 units
• Summer At Creek Beach Building 4 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 328 units
• Sunset At Creek Beach Building 3 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 163 units
• Binghatti Creek – Al Jaddaf (Binghatti), 335 units
• The Address Residences Dubai Opera T2 – Downtown Dubai (Emaar), 967 units
• Chorisia 1 Villas – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Abwab), 60 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 65,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 4, Jumeirah Bay Islands
2. AED 51,903,000 – Bluewaters Bay - Building 1, Marsa Dubai
3. AED 45,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 5, Jumeirah Bay Islands
4. AED 44,000,000 – Address Residences Sky View, Downtown Dubai
5. AED 36,666,000 – Serenia Living - Tower 4, Palm Jumeirah

Top villa sales

1. AED 150,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 72,000,000 – Wadi Al Safa 3
3. AED 70,000,000 – Emirates Living
4. AED 47,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
5. AED 41,800,000 – Me'Aisem First

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and category table take in every property type held in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale breakdown, leading-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 should not be summed across the sections.

Rounding. The headline totals are the definitive rounded figures. Breakdowns at category level 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 same period a year before. All values are in AED and areas in square feet.