Dubai Real Estate Market Report — March, 2024

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – March 2024

Dubai's property market produced a record March in 2024. Taking all property types, 13,655 transactions were completed for AED 37.40 billion, at a median of AED 1,468/sqft. Focusing on the apartment, villa and commercial segment, 13,382 deals were worth AED 32.81 billion — +13% higher in volume and +20% in value than March 2023.

Both headline gauges hit records, and the momentum was broad-based rather than concentrated: each category logged higher volume, higher value and its strongest March price per square foot in the 11-year series. Apartments carried deal count, whereas villas provided the fiercest value momentum.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments drove the expansion. Volume hit 10,627 deals, up +16% and 1,487 more than March 2023 — the highest March volume in the 11-year series. Value grew +17% to AED 19.60 billion, while the median price strengthened to AED 1,560/sqft, +12% year on year and +23% above 2014, itself a March record. Tellingly, the median ticket hardly shifted at AED 1,202,880 (+2%): buyers paid more per foot but favoured smaller units, holding entry tickets in check.

Villas told the reverse story — modest volume, outsized value. Transactions nudged up only +4% to 2,414 (87 above last March, and still the highest March villa count in the series), yet value jumped +27% to AED 12.54 billion. The gain stemmed almost wholly from pricing: the median ticket rose +32% to AED 3,300,000 and the median price hit AED 1,248/sqft, up +12% on the year and +66% above 2014 — the steepest long-run rise of any category.

Commercial was the smallest segment yet hardly the dullest. Deal count climbed +3% to 341, its highest March total since 2014, and value gained +4% to AED 668.33 million. Its standout move was pricing: the median leapt +39% to AED 1,493/sqft — the sharpest annual price gain of any category — with the median ticket up +16% to AED 1,275,000.

Every category, including plots and buildings

The headline totals also take in land and buildings that fall outside the apartment-villa-commercial basis. Plots added 272 deals worth AED 4.57 billion at a median AED 6,547,500 and AED 590/sqft — a meaningful share of the AED 37.40 billion headline — and a lone building changed hands for AED 20.00 million. That is why the all-type count of 13,655 sits above the 13,382 apartment-villa-commercial figure.

Primary versus resale

The primary market retained the edge, claiming 62% of both deals and value — 8,348 transactions worth AED 20.35 billion. Resale made up the other 38% on each measure: 5,034 deals worth AED 12.46 billion. With matching volume and value shares, average deal sizes were broadly alike across the new and secondary markets.

Where the activity was

By value, Marsa Dubai topped the list at AED 2.50 billion, ahead of Business Bay (AED 1.92 billion), Zaabeel First (AED 1.74 billion), Downtown Dubai (AED 1.63 billion) and Dubai South (AED 1.48 billion). By deal count, Al Barsha South Fourth ruled with 1,372 transactions, trailed by Business Bay (921), Al Merkadh (813), Marsa Dubai (711) and Al Hebiah Fourth (579). Business Bay and Marsa Dubai were the only districts to feature on both the value and volume rankings.

Rental market

Leasing revealed a stark divide between new and renewal demand. New apartment contracts dropped -8.53% to 10,022, yet the median new-lease rent soared +26% to AED 63,000; renewals, in contrast, climbed +7.45% to 12,869 at a far lower median of AED 50,400 (+6.67%) — a sign of tenants renewing to sidestep pricier re-letting rates. Villas recorded new contracts up +4.99% to 1,242 at AED 152,000, while commercial new-lease rents surged +22.98% to AED 114,000 even as new commercial contracts eased -0.90% to 1,645.

Supply

Developers kept the pipeline hot: 4,697 units were launched over 26 projects, versus only 1,355 completions from 7 delivered projects. That works out to a launch-to-delivery ratio of 3.5 and a net 3,342 more units launched than delivered — supply is being added much faster than it is handed over.

Launched

• Binghatti Galaxy - 2 – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 148 units
• The Valley - Lillia – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 406 units
• Platinum By Vision – Wadi Al Safa 2 (Vision Developments), 100 units
• Binghatti Royale – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 370 units
• City Walk Northline 1 – Al Wasl (Meraas), 115 units
• The Lakeshore Villas By Ellington – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Ellington), 38 units
• Trinity By Karma – Al Barsha South 3 (Karma Realty), 309 units
• Binghatti Phantom – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 369 units
• Wadi Villas By Arista – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Pbg Development), 30 units
• The First Collection At Dubai Sports City – Al Hebiah Fourth (The First Group), 478 units
• Marquis Insignia – Al Barsha South 3 (Marquis Point), 249 units
• Karma – Wadi Al Safa 2 (Vision Developments), 90 units
• One Sankari West Tower – Business Bay (Sankari), 30 units
• Exotica By Al Marina – Al Barsha South Fourth (Al Marina Holding), 93 units
• Santorini Residences By Loutraki – Al Barsha South Fifth (Loutraki), 169 units
• Lagoon Views 3 - Tower C – Al Hebiah Fifth (Damac), 162 units
• German Supreme Tower 2 – Al Barsha South Fourth (Pyamod Homes), 165 units
• Fia – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 192 units
• Ocean Star - Building 2 – Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah (Emaar), 155 units
• Enaya Residences – Al Barsha South Fifth (Deviate), 61 units
• City Walk Northline 2 Building B – Al Wasl (Meraas), 192 units
• Elaya – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 153 units
• Sky Vista By Peace Homes – Al Barsha South Fourth (Peace Homes), 72 units
• Ora – Al Yelayiss 2 (Nshama), 157 units
• The Spark By Esnaad – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Esnaad), 50 units
• Empire Estates – Al Barsha South 3 (Empire Developments), 344 units

Delivered

• Azizi Riviera 39 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 172 units
• Azizi Riviera 37 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 241 units
• Azizi Riviera 48 – Al Merkadh (Azizi), 335 units
• Cf 4 – Al Wasl (Meydan), 160 units
• Greenview – Dubai South (Emaar), 286 units
• Azizi Greenfield – Nad Al Sheba First (Azizi), 104 units
• Chorisia 2 Villas – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Abwab), 57 units

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 43,898,029 – Baccarat Residence T1, Downtown Dubai
2. AED 40,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 3, Jumeirah Bay Islands
3. AED 28,331,888 – Bayview Tower 1, Marsa Dubai
4. AED 26,310,888 – Seapoint Tower 1, Marsa Dubai
5. AED 26,000,000 – The Address Jbr 2 (Jumeirah Gate Tower 2), Marsa Dubai

Top villa sales

1. AED 155,000,000 – Jumeirah Bay Islands
2. AED 145,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
3. AED 103,170,000 – Al Hebiah Fourth
4. AED 78,298,987 – Wadi Al Safa 3
5. AED 59,890,000 – Ghadeer Al Tair

Notes on methodology

Scope. The headline totals and category table span every property category in the data, Plot and Building included. The primary/resale breakdown, top-area rankings and year-on-year series cover Apartment, Villa and Commercial alone, so those numbers are intentionally smaller than the headline and should not be summed across sections.

Rounding. The headline totals are the definitive 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 twelve months before. All values are in AED; areas in square feet.