Dubai Real Estate Market Report — August, 2024

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – August 2024

August 2024 proved a record-setting month for Dubai's property sector, as 16,184 transactions worth AED 47.38 billion were completed spanning every category of property. Neither the deal count nor the aggregate value had ever been higher in the series, and the median came in at AED 1,497/sqft.

Setting aside plots and buildings, the Apartment, Villa and Commercial segments on their own accounted for 15,826 deals worth AED 40.35 billion — a 37% gain in volume and a 39% gain in value against August 2023. The strength was widely spread, and rather than easing, prices firmed as activity rose.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

The month rested on apartments. That segment recorded 12,308 transactions, a 37% year-on-year rise and 3,332 deals more than the previous August, generating AED 24.42 billion in value (+31%). It was the strongest August apartment volume across the 11-year series. The median apartment price ticked higher to AED 1,657/sqft — a slim +2% over the year yet still the highest August price per square foot ever recorded and 37% above the 2014 base — while the median ticket stayed roughly steady at AED 1,328,913 (+2%).

Villas expanded even more quickly by value. Volume climbed 40% to 3,151 deals (899 above the year-earlier figure), while value surged 53% to AED 15.26 billion. In contrast to apartments, villa pricing shifted markedly: the median hit AED 1,278/sqft, 28% higher year on year and 85% above 2014, setting both the highest August volume and the highest August price per square foot in the series. At AED 3,325,000, the villa median ticket stayed the biggest of any category.

Commercial was the smallest of the trio yet still moved forward, posting 367 transactions (+20%, its highest August count since 2014) and AED 667.87 million in value (+38%). The median strengthened to AED 1,335/sqft (+23%), a series-high for August. Tellingly, all three tracked segments recorded a higher price per square foot than a year earlier — this was a rising-price expansion, not merely a surge in volume.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Ordered by value across all property types, the ranking ran Apartment, Villa, Plot and then Commercial. Plots took third with AED 7.03 billion in value at a land-basis median of AED 332/sqft, and their median ticket of AED 3,294,844 came in just under villas, which retained the largest median ticket of any category.

Primary versus resale

Off-plan kept its grip on the market. Primary sales made up 71% of volume and 72% of value — 11,259 deals worth AED 29.08 billion — with the resale market supplying the remaining 4,567 transactions and AED 11.27 billion, equal to 29% of volume against 28% of value. That closely matched split indicates primary and resale pricing were broadly aligned rather than one tier commanding a heavy premium.

Where the activity was

On value, Dubai South came first at AED 3.69 billion, ahead of Al Yufrah 1 (AED 3.02 billion), Marsa Dubai (AED 2.67 billion), Downtown Dubai (AED 2.05 billion) and Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (AED 1.82 billion). Measured by deal count, Al Barsha South Fourth led with 1,411 transactions, then Dubai South (1,104), Al Yufrah 1 (925), Bukadra (794) and Wadi Al Safa 5 (757). Two neighbourhoods — Dubai South and Al Yufrah 1 — featured on both leaderboards, pairing heavy deal flow with high total spend.

Rental market

Rents climbed across every segment even where leasing volumes eased. New apartment leases totalled 12,004 (+2.99%) at a median of AED 70,000 (+17%), while renewals hit 13,177 (+4.97%) at AED 55,000 (+10%). Villa demand was uneven on counts — new contracts rose 8.79% to 1,807 (median AED 178,250), but renewals dropped 11.76% to 1,561, even as renewal rents advanced 14.81% to AED 155,000. Commercial leasing counts fell on both sides (new 1,716, -2.72%; renewals 1,922, -6.29%), yet median rents still increased to AED 105,601 (+8.23%) and AED 100,000 (+15.74%) respectively.

Supply

Developers kept activity firmly tilted toward launches. 9,341 units were launched across 35 projects versus 3,995 units handed over from 12 projects — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 2.3 and a net 5,346 more units launched than delivered, signalling sustained supply ahead.

Launched

• The Vyne Residences – Al Barsha South Fifth (Metrical), 263 units
• Onda By Kasco – Business Bay (Kasco), 352 units
• Beach Walk Residences 2 – Dubai Islands (Imtiaz), 63 units
• Beach Oasis 2 - Tower B – Al Hebiah Second (Azizi), 704 units
• Ocean Tower – Dubai Islands (Al Ansari), 165 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Elo 3 – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 1,114 units
• 161 Jumeirah Lane – Al Satwa (National Properties), 161 units
• Solara Tower Dubai – Downtown Dubai (Sol Properties), 247 units
• Pearls By Vision – Nadd Hessa (Vision Developments), 114 units
• Empire Livings – Al Barsha South 2 (Empire Developments), 210 units
• Alfal Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Dubuild), 285 units
• Pearl House Iii By Imtiaz – Al Barsha South Fourth (Imtiaz), 165 units
• Butterfly-B – Al Barsha South 3 (Desert Falcon), 596 units
• Dusk By Binghatti – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 107 units
• Celeste By Westar – Al Barsha South Fourth (Westar), 15 units
• Alba Tower – Al Satwa (Century Seven), 73 units
• Samana Park Meadows – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Samana), 221 units
• Maya Luxury Collection – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Al Andalusia Group), 9 units
• Urban Life – Business Bay (Urban Properties), 147 units
• Altus Tower 2 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 283 units
• Natuzzi Harmony Residences By Peace Homes – Dubai Islands (Peace Homes), 50 units
• Ocean Pearl By Sd - 1 – Dubai Islands (Samana), 50 units
• The Oasis - Palmiera 3 – Me'Aisem Second (Emaar), 59 units
• The Valley - Rivera – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 378 units
• Time 3 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Time Properties), 288 units
• Damac Lagoons - Lagoon Views 12 D – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 322 units
• Golf Point Tower 2 – Dubai South (Emaar), 590 units
• The Valley - Vindera – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 745 units
• The Harmony - 2 – Dubai South (Al Mizan), 113 units
• Verdana Residence 2 – Dubai Investment Park First (Reportage), 239 units
• Address Residences | Dubai Creek Harbour – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 326 units
• Address Residences L Dubai Hills Estate Tower B – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 575 units
• Trafford Residence – Dubai South (Deviate), 44 units
• Milos By Karma – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Karma Realty), 195 units
• Pristine By Zoya – Jabal Ali First (Zoya), 73 units

Delivered

• Central Park - Building 1 – Al Wasl (Meraas), 198 units
• Luma22 - West Tower – Al Barsha South Fourth (Townx), 430 units
• Il Primo – Downtown Dubai (Emaar), 232 units
• Eaton – Warsan Fourth (Gpd Investments), 107 units
• Mag Eye Phase 1 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Mag), 1,303 units
• Damac Hills-Park Residences 4 – Al Hebiah Third (Damac), 292 units
• Binghatti Corner – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 727 units
• Arabian Ranches Lll - June 2 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Emaar), 35 units
• Binghatti Emerald – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 328 units
• Mas Tower – Nadd Hessa (Revi), 112 units
• Avenue Residence 4 – Jabal Ali First (Al Jaziri Brothers), 135 units
• Sevilla Village – Al Hebiah Fourth (Dubai Sports City), 96 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 70,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 1, Jumeirah Bay Islands
2. AED 50,000,000 – Bluewaters Residences 9, Marsa Dubai
3. AED 39,560,000 – Central Park Plaza Tower B, Al Wasl
4. AED 29,516,000 – Verve City Walk Tower A, Al Wasl
5. AED 28,601,828 – Mercer House North Tower, Al Thanyah Fifth

Top villa sales

1. AED 105,000,000 – Al Hebiah Fourth
2. AED 78,750,000 – World Islands
3. AED 65,000,000 – Al Merkadh
4. AED 65,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
5. AED 46,500,000 – Emirates Living

Notes on methodology

Scope. Headline totals and the category table span every property category in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale split, 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.