Dubai Real Estate Market Report — July, 2024

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – July 2024

Dubai's property market recorded its strongest July on record in 2024, ending the month with 16,255 transactions worth AED 50.18 billion across every property type. Pared back to the apartment, villa and commercial core, the market booked 15,925 deals worth AED 42.43 billion — volume up 46% and value up 28% on July 2023.

What distinguishes this July is that the surge was wide-reaching and price-backed rather than a statistical quirk of mix. All three core segments simultaneously logged their highest July transaction counts in the 11-year series and their highest July price per square foot, with the blended median holding at AED 1,507/sqft. Apartments carried the load, but villas and commercial space each climbed to fresh July highs of their own.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments were the month's engine. The segment logged 12,704 sales, up 62% year on year — an increase of 4,864 deals over the prior July and the highest July apartment volume in the 11-year series. Value reached AED 23.48 billion (+46%), and pricing firmed rather than softened under the heavier flow: the median stood at AED 1,610/sqft, up 6% on the year and 46% above the 2014 base, while the median ticket nudged up 7% to AED 1,309,999. The month's single biggest apartment deal, at AED 50,568,244, landed in Downtown Dubai.

Villas tell a different story — light on extra volume but rich in value. Transactions rose just 4% to 2,837 (99 more than a year earlier), yet total value climbed 10% to AED 18.09 billion and the median ticket leapt 32% to AED 3,948,000 — a sign buyers were trading up into larger, costlier homes rather than simply transacting more often. Per-square-foot pricing rose 7% to AED 1,318/sqft and now sits 79% above its 2014 level, the steepest long-run appreciation of any segment. The month also delivered the market's marquee trade: a villa that changed hands for AED 610,000,000.

Commercial is the smallest book but grew fastest by value. Only 384 deals closed — up 28% and the highest July commercial volume since 2014 — yet they were worth AED 858.93 million, a 66% jump on the year. The median ticket rose 36% to AED 1,428,240 and price per square foot advanced 12% to AED 1,229/sqft, a fresh July high for the series. The size of that value gain against the modest deal count points to a heavier weighting of larger, higher-priced assets moving through the market this July.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Beyond the three core segments, plots added real weight to the headline total: 328 plot transactions worth AED 7.72 billion traded at a median of AED 583/sqft and a median ticket of AED 7,000,000. Land accounted for roughly the difference between the all-property total and the apartment-villa-commercial core, and its high per-deal value is a large part of why total market value (AED 50.18 billion) runs well ahead of the core figure.

Primary versus resale

The off-plan pipeline kept its dominance. Within the core segments, primary (developer) sales made up 66% of volume and 67% of value — 10,441 deals worth AED 28.55 billion — while the resale market took the remaining 34% of volume and 33% of value, or 5,484 deals worth AED 13.88 billion. The near-identical volume and value shares suggest primary and resale stock traded at broadly comparable average prices, rather than one skewing toward the top or bottom of the market.

Where the activity was

Activity concentrated in a familiar set of districts. By value, Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid led with AED 3.61 billion, ahead of Palm Jumeirah (AED 2.52 billion), Dubai South (AED 2.33 billion), Business Bay (AED 2.32 billion) and Marsa Dubai (AED 1.95 billion). By deal count, Al Barsha South Fourth topped the table with 1,350 transactions, followed by Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (1,230), Business Bay (1,161) and Dubai Creek Harbour (725). That Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid and Business Bay sit near the top on both measures underlines how much of the month's momentum ran through a handful of high-turnover communities.

Rental market

The leasing market tightened alongside. New apartment leases numbered 11,898 (+22.60%) at a median of AED 67,789, up a steep 18.93%, while the 14,204 apartment renewals (+23.57%) rose a gentler 9.20% to AED 54,600 — the widening gap between new and renewal rents is the clearest sign of how far in-place tenants sit below current market levels. Villa leasing held firm too, with new contracts at a median of AED 175,000 (+8.02%), though renewals slipped 1.20% in count. Commercial rents stood out on renewals, up 20.30% to AED 100,000.

Supply

Supply leaned heavily toward future delivery. Developers launched 19,678 units across 45 projects during the month, against just 1,037 units delivered across 7 projects — a net 18,641 units added to the forward pipeline. That imbalance fits the primary market's grip on sales and points to a substantial wave of stock still working its way toward completion.

Launched

• Verve City Walk Tower B – Al Wasl (Meraas), 436 units
• Azizi Venice 14-Retails – Dubai South (Azizi), 3,438 units
• Lagoon Views 10 - Tower B – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 108 units
• One By Binghatti – Business Bay (Binghatti), 755 units
• Parkland – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 209 units
• One Residence – Downtown Dubai (Ginco), 458 units
• Vela Viento By Omniyat – Business Bay (Omniyat), 86 units
• Damac Riverside - Lush – Dubai Investment Park Second (Damac), 750 units
• Marina Views Tower 3 – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 927 units
• Lagoon Views 9 - Tower B – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 108 units
• Zazen Ivy – Jabal Ali First (Zazen), 73 units
• Azizi Riviera 69 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 124 units
• Belle Reve By Zimaya – Al Barsha South Fourth (Zimaya), 190 units
• The Valley - Avena – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 322 units
• Damac Lagoons - Lagoon Views 13 D – Al Hebiah Fifth (Island Oasis), 913 units
• Hillmont Residences By Ellington – Al Barsha South Fourth (B L G Development), 145 units
• The Valley - Velora 2 – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 312 units
• The Valley - Avena 2 – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 332 units
• Altia One – Nadd Hessa (Yas Developers), 123 units
• Midora Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Qube Development), 498 units
• Ocean Cove Building 2 – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Emaar), 233 units
• Dubai Harbour Residences (Area 1)-B – Marsa Dubai (H&H), 217 units
• Sunset Grove Homes – Al Barsha South Fourth (Snk Development), 8 units
• Sereno Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Svarn), 94 units
• Dubai Harbour Residences (Area 3) – Marsa Dubai (Harbour One Investment), 159 units
• Leon – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Aldar), 599 units
• The Place By Prestige One – Al Hebiah Fourth (Prestige One), 226 units
• The Orchard Place-Tower C – Al Barsha South Fourth (Peak Summit), 196 units
• Club Place Building C – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 473 units
• Seaside By Prestige One – Dubai Islands (Prestige One), 121 units
• The Fifth Tower – Al Barsha South Fourth (Object One), 345 units
• The Alba Resort Residences – Palm Jumeirah (Omniyat), 137 units
• Athlon By Al Dar 1 – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Aldar), 893 units
• Haya On The Park – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 196 units
• Palatium Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Ahmadyar Development), 151 units
• Damac Riverside - Sage – Dubai Investment Park Second (Damac), 550 units
• Damac Riverside - Ivy – Dubai Investment Park Second (Damac), 580 units
• Sobha Orbis Tower G – Al Hebiah First (Sobha), 3,002 units
• Damac Lagoons - Lagoon Views 11 D – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 322 units
• Mira Villas Designed By Bentley Home – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Mira), 36 units
• Havelock Heights – Al Barsha South Fourth (Aa And Hmb Real Estate Development), 156 units
• Savannah – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 154 units
• The Pier – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Continental Investments), 282 units
• Beach Walk Residences 1 – Dubai Islands (Imtiaz), 76 units
• Samana Avenue – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Samana), 165 units

Delivered

• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One B Extension Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 67 units
• Oakley Square Residences - Tower B – Al Barsha South Fourth (Ellington), 269 units
• La Perla Homes 10 – Al Barsha South Fourth (G H D), 13 units
• Azizi Riviera 1 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 383 units
• Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City District One- C Villas – Al Merkadh (Meydan), 44 units
• Legacy By Sunrise – Al Barsha South 3 (Sunrise Transcon), 132 units
• Boutique Xll – Al Jaddaf (Structure), 129 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 50,568,244 – Baccarat Residence T1, Downtown Dubai
2. AED 45,000,000 – Five At Palm Jumeirah Dubai, Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 26,265,888 – Seapoint Tower 1, Marsa Dubai
4. AED 19,973,000 – Damac Bay Tower B, Marsa Dubai
5. AED 18,888,888 – One Za'Abeel The Residences, Zaabeel First

Top villa sales

1. AED 610,000,000 – area not recorded
2. AED 216,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
3. AED 75,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
4. AED 65,530,000 – Ghadeer Al Tair
5. AED 61,000,000 – World Islands

Notes on methodology

Scope. Headline totals and the category table span every property category recorded 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 figures 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 earlier. All values are in AED and areas in square feet.