Dubai Real Estate Market Report — Q2, 2023

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – Q2 2023

Dubai's property market posted a record second quarter in Q2 2023, recording 30,235 transactions worth AED 90.70 billion across all property types, plots included. Focusing on the Apartment, Villa and Commercial segments alone, buyers closed 29,435 deals — 38% higher than Q2 2022 — worth AED 73.05 billion, a 46% rise in value.

Both the volume and value marks set fresh Q2 highs, while the citywide median held firm at AED 1,350/sqft. Apartments carried the load; villas were the only segment to lose ground on deal count, even as villa pricing climbed to the top of the 10-year record.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments powered the expansion. The segment logged 23,335 sales, up 57% year on year and its highest Q2 volume in the 10-year series — roughly 8,507 more deals than in Q2 2022. Value rose even faster, up 66% to AED 47.79 billion. Tellingly, this was a volume story rather than a price one: the median rate eased 2% to AED 1,475/sqft and the median ticket dipped 1% to AED 1,213,128, though the per-foot rate still stands 19% above its 2014 base.

Villas ran the opposite way — the only category to slip on volume, down 10% to 5,186 deals, about 595 fewer than a year earlier. That scarcity showed up in price: the median rate rose 16% to AED 1,115/sqft, the highest Q2 price per square foot in the 10-year series and 47% above 2014, while the median ticket jumped 35% to AED 2,700,000. Fewer villas sold, yet each fetched far more, lifting segment value 17% to AED 23.61 billion.

Commercial quietly turned in a strong quarter too, with 914 transactions — up 30% and the highest Q2 volume since 2014 — worth AED 1.65 billion, a 35% gain. Pricing firmed as well: the median reached AED 1,010/sqft, up 20% and the highest Q2 rate since 2015, and the median ticket climbed 26% to AED 1,008,534 — though on a per-foot basis the segment remains 4% below its 2014 level.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Plots were the quiet swing factor behind the headline: just 800 transactions carried AED 17.65 billion in value — most of the gap between the all-type total and the Apartment/Villa/Commercial figure — at a median AED 400/sqft and a median ticket of AED 5,800,000.

Primary versus resale

The market tilted modestly toward off-plan. Primary sales claimed 54% of volume and 53% of value — 15,953 deals worth AED 38.83 billion — while resale took 46% of volume and 47% of value, or 13,482 transactions worth AED 34.22 billion. Resale's marginally larger value share than volume share suggests higher average prices on completed stock.

Where the activity was

Marsa Dubai led on both counts, heading the value table at AED 12.05 billion and placing second by volume with 3,174 deals, just shy of Al Barsha South Fourth's 3,232. Palm Jumeirah (AED 6.86 billion) and Downtown Dubai (AED 4.96 billion) came next on value, while Business Bay (AED 3.35 billion, 1,800 deals) and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (AED 4.33 billion, 1,527 deals) featured on both leaderboards.

Rental market

Leasing gave a mixed signal. New apartment contracts fell 10% to 26,619, yet the median new rent rose 17.39% to AED 54,000; renewals, meanwhile, grew 23.66% to 31,768 at a median AED 48,300, as sitting tenants renewed to avoid steeper market rates. The same pattern held in villas, where the median new rent climbed 25.06% to AED 150,072, and in commercial, where new rents advanced 17.65% to AED 100,000.

Supply

Developers kept the pipeline running well ahead of completions: 25,411 units launched across 75 projects against 5,812 units delivered from 28 projects — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 4.4 and a net 19,599 more units launched than delivered.

Selected launches

• Mudon Al Ranim 5 – Al Hebiah Sixth (Dubai Properties), 182 units
• Marquis Galleria – Al Barsha South 3 (Marquis Circle), 126 units
• The Holland Gardens – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 219 units
• Alef Noon Residence – Al Barsha South Fourth (Al Bait Al Duwaliy), 113 units
• The Valley - Rivana – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 486 units
• Concept 7 Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Condor), 160 units
• West Five Businessbay Residence – Business Bay (Mag), 144 units
• The Vybe – Al Barsha South Fourth (Metrical), 276 units
• Azizi Vista – Al Hebiah Second (Azizi), 166 units
• Naya 3 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 452 units
• … and 65 further projects

Selected completions

• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , Residences 21 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 42 units
• Creek Beach - Vida Residences – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 233 units
• Azizi Riviera 5 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 221 units
• Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab – Um Suqaim Third (Meraas), 105 units
• The Sterling West House – Business Bay (Beyond), 296 units
• Azizi Riviera 2 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 64 units
• Beach Isle Tower 2 – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 411 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City, District One Phase Iii, Residences 19 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 42 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City , District One Phase Iii , Residences 31 – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 42 units
• V2 – Al Warsan First (Tabeer), 273 units
• … and 18 further projects

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 122,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 3, Jumeirah Bay Islands
2. AED 80,000,000 – Bluewaters Residences 7, Marsa Dubai
3. AED 76,500,000 – Jumeirah Living Marsa Al Arab, Um Suqaim Third
4. AED 53,653,888 – Seapoint Tower 2, Marsa Dubai
5. AED 52,750,000 – Bulgari Residences 6, Jumeirah Bay Islands

Top villa sales

1. AED 150,000,000 – Emirates Living
2. AED 135,000,000 – Jumeirah Bay Islands
3. AED 120,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
4. AED 75,500,000 – Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 73,660,902 – World Islands

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and category table take in every property category captured in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale breakdown, top-area rankings and year-on-year series span 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 authoritative rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded on their own and may not add up exactly to the headline.

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