Dubai Real Estate Market Report — Q4, 2024

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – Q4 2024

Dubai's property market ended 2024 with its strongest quarter yet. Across every property type, Q4 2024 recorded 50,349 transactions worth AED 147.64 billion, both all-time series highs, at a median of AED 1,562/sqft.

On the Apartment, Villa and Commercial basis alone, excluding plots and buildings, the market turned over 49,108 deals, up 44% year on year, for AED 121.06 billion in value, up 29%. Prices stayed steady even as volume surged, suggesting the quarter's gains reflected genuine demand rather than a thin, price-driven rally.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments were the main driver of the expansion. The segment logged 39,156 transactions, up 50% year on year and the highest Q4 volume in the 11-year series, adding 13,078 deals over the same quarter a year earlier. Value climbed to AED 70.86 billion (up 38%). Interestingly, the median apartment ticket eased to AED 1,230,000, down 3%, even as the median rate nudged up to AED 1,637/sqft (up 2%, and 35% above 2014) — the volume was disproportionately weighted toward smaller, more affordable units.

Villas were more a pricing story than a volume one. Turnover of 8,820 units (up 26%) was itself the highest Q4 villa volume in the series, but pricing stood out most: AED 1,444/sqft, up 28% year on year and 90% above 2014 — the highest Q4 price per square foot on record. Value reached AED 47.07 billion (up 16%), with the median ticket at AED 3,148,000. Commercial was the quietest by count, holding essentially flat at 1,132 deals (up 1%), yet its value leapt 58% to AED 3.13 billion on a record AED 1,546/sqft (up 25%) and a median ticket of AED 1,500,000 (up 25%) — both a Q4 volume and a price-per-sqft high for the segment.

By value, apartments ranked first, ahead of villas, then plots, commercial and buildings. Together, apartments and villas accounted for the overwhelming share of turnover, while commercial stayed a small slice of a market that was setting fresh Q4 volume marks in every category tracked.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Land and whole-building transactions rounded out the picture. Plots ranked third by value at AED 25.57 billion across 1,228 transactions, with a median ticket of AED 4,418,690 and AED 342/sqft. Just 13 whole buildings changed hands, for AED 1.01 billion, yet these carried by far the largest median ticket of any category at AED 12,485,458 — a reminder that headline volume and per-deal size sit at opposite ends of the market.

Primary versus resale

Developer-led sales dominated the flow. Primary transactions made up 68% of volume and 65% of value — 33,159 deals worth AED 78.41 billion. The resale market accounted for 32% of deals but a slightly larger 35% of value: 15,949 transactions totalling AED 42.65 billion. That 3-point gap between resale's value and volume shares indicates secondary buyers were concentrated in pricier, more established stock.

Where the activity was

By value, Marsa Dubai topped the list at AED 9.35 billion, followed by Business Bay (AED 8.31 billion), Wadi Al Safa 5 (AED 6.26 billion), Dubai South (AED 5.76 billion) and Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (AED 5.73 billion). By transaction count, Al Barsha South Fourth led with 4,692 deals, ahead of Wadi Al Safa 5 (3,369), Business Bay (3,341), Dubai South (2,730) and Marsa Dubai (2,365). Four areas — Marsa Dubai, Business Bay, Wadi Al Safa 5 and Dubai South — appear on both lists, pairing heavy deal flow with heavyweight value.

Rental market

Rents increased across most of the market, though not universally. New apartment leases rose to a median AED 69,000 (up 15%) on 38,088 contracts (up 11.41%), with renewals at AED 55,000 (up 10%). New villa leases reached AED 175,000 (up 9.38%) and renewals AED 153,000 (up 12.09%). Commercial was the clear exception: renewals firmed to a median AED 105,362 (up 17.07%), while new commercial leases dropped to AED 91,182 (down 8.82%) with the rate per square foot flat at 0% — the only segment where new-lease pricing weakened.

Supply

The development pipeline leaned heavily toward new starts. Developers launched 45,772 units across 131 projects while delivering 8,885 units across 37 — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 5.2 and a net of 36,887 more units launched than handed over, signalling a build-up of future supply.

Selected launches

• Greenville 2 – Dubai South (Emaar), 148 units
• The Valley - Kaia – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 156 units
• Damac Hills (2) - Violet 4 – Madinat Hind 4 (Damac), 803 units
• Saas Hills – Al Barsha South 2 (Saas), 859 units
• Barari Parkview By Al Mawared – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Al Mawared), 199 units
• Binghatti Hillviews – Al Barsha South 2 (Binghatti), 1,577 units
• Golf Acres – Dubai South (Emaar), 158 units
• One Beverly – Al Barsha South 3 (Hmb Homes), 389 units
• The Bristol Emaar Beachfront – Marsa Dubai (Emaar), 229 units
• Azizi Venice 13 ? Building B – Dubai South (Azizi), 1,888 units
• … and 121 further projects

Selected completions

• The Valley-Nara – Al Yufrah 1 (Emaar), 372 units
• Orchid At Creek Beach Building 2 – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 219 units
• Alexis Tower – Jabal Ali Industrial Second (Reportage), 378 units
• The Pulse- Beachfront – Dubai South (Dubai South), 291 units
• Mayas Geneva – Al Barsha South Fourth (Sama Ezdan), 87 units
• Ellington Beach House – Palm Jumeirah (Ellington), 129 units
• Concept 7 Residences – Al Barsha South Fourth (Condor), 160 units
• Prime Residency 3 – Jabal Ali First (Prescott), 294 units
• Creek Palace – Dubai Creek Harbour (Emaar), 354 units
• Binghatti House – Al Barsha South Fourth (Binghatti), 294 units
• … and 27 further projects

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 84,000,000 – Bluewaters Residences 9, Marsa Dubai
2. AED 58,718,813 – Baccarat Residence T2, Downtown Dubai
3. AED 54,000,000 – Bulgari Residences 1, Jumeirah Bay Islands
4. AED 53,000,000 – One Za'Abeel Tower, Zaabeel First
5. AED 50,000,000 – Serenia Residences Building C, Palm Jumeirah

Top villa sales

1. AED 200,366,036 – Al Hebiah Fifth
2. AED 200,000,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
3. AED 170,500,000 – Palm Jumeirah
4. AED 125,000,000 – Emirates Living
5. AED 84,000,000 – Al Merkadh

Notes on methodology

Scope. Headline totals and the category table encompass every property type in the data, including Plot and Building. The primary/resale split, top-area rankings and year-on-year series cover only Apartment, Villa and Commercial, so those figures are deliberately smaller than the headline and should not be combined with it.

Rounding. Headline totals represent the authoritative rounded figures. Category-level breakdowns are rounded separately and may not sum precisely to the headline.

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