Dubai Real Estate Market Report — Q2, 2026

Dubai Real Estate Market Report – Q2 2026

Dubai's property market logged 38,257 transactions worth AED 110.36 billion in Q2 2026, with the typical deal trading at AED 1,715 per square foot. On the apartment, villa and commercial basis that underpins the quarter's year-on-year comparisons, volume was down 28% against Q2 2025 while value fell 40% to AED 94.17 billion — a marked step back from a year earlier.

Yet the retreat was about quantity, not price. Value per square foot held or strengthened in every category even as deal counts thinned — the picture of a market cooling in throughput while holding onto, rather than giving back, the pricing gains of recent years.

Headline figures

Year-on-year performance by category

Apartments stayed the market's backbone at 31,895 deals, yet they also led the overall decline: volume eased 22% — roughly 8,788 fewer sales than a year earlier and the lowest Q2 total since 2023 — and value dropped 32% to AED 56.55 billion. The going rate, though, stood still. The median apartment changed hands at AED 1,714 per square foot, flat year-on-year but the highest Q2 reading in the 13-year series and 38% above 2014. With the median ticket slipping 8% to AED 1,183,000 while per-foot pricing held unchanged, buyers look to have shifted toward smaller units rather than cheaper ones.

Villas took the sharpest correction of the quarter. Transactions tumbled 57% to 4,383 — 5,895 fewer than Q2 2025 and the thinnest Q2 since 2021 — pulling value down 59% to AED 28.38 billion. Pricing, though, ran the opposite way: the median villa fetched AED 1,629 per square foot, up 8% year-on-year and 114% above 2014, yet another series-high for a second quarter, while the median ticket rose 6% to AED 3,850,000. Far fewer villas sold, and those that did commanded more.

Commercial was the sole grower. Volume rose 10% to 1,374 deals — just 121 more than last year, but enough for the highest Q2 since 2014 — and value more than doubled, up 157% to AED 9.24 billion. Its pricing shift was the market's most dramatic: median price per square foot leapt 91% to AED 3,329 (a series high, 218% above 2014), and the median ticket rose 75% to AED 3,083,344. Moves of that size on a modest deal count suggest a mix tilted toward larger, higher-value assets rather than a broad repricing of the whole segment.

Every category, including plots and buildings

Outside the three headline segments, land stayed a heavyweight. A mere 593 plot transactions generated AED 16.03 billion — the third-largest value pool of any category — at a median ticket of AED 6,942,004, comfortably the largest deal size in the market, even though plots priced at only AED 761 per square foot. Whole-building sales were niche by comparison, with 12 trades worth AED 159.89 million.

Primary versus resale

The primary, off-plan market kept its grip, making up 75% of deals and 73% of value — 28,339 transactions worth AED 68.46 billion. Resale, or secondary, activity accounted for the rest at 25% of volume and 27% of value, or 9,313 deals worth AED 25.71 billion. Resale's share of value sitting two points above its share of volume tells us the average secondary sale carried a slightly higher price tag than the average new launch — a modest premium for completed, ready stock.

Where the activity was

By value, Business Bay led the table at AED 8.36 billion, ahead of Dubai South (AED 6.54 billion), Dubai Islands (AED 5.26 billion), Jabal Ali First (AED 4.02 billion) and Wadi Al Safa 3 (AED 3.46 billion). Volume told another story: Dubai South ran away with the count at 5,427 transactions, well clear of runner-up Jabal Ali First (2,579), then Al Barsha South Fourth (2,143), Wadi Al Safa 5 (1,967) and Wadi Al Safa 3 (1,812). Business Bay's value lead set against Dubai South's volume lead captures the split between premium central districts and high-turnover growth corridors.

Rental market

On the leasing side, renewals are carrying the load. New apartment leases were essentially flat — 32,245 contracts, barely changed year-on-year, at an unmoved median of AED 70,000 — while apartment renewals grew 3.48% to 41,161 contracts and their median rent climbed 5.26% to AED 60,000. Villas ran the same pattern, renewal rents jumping 9.84% to AED 165,000 against a 2.22% dip in new-lease medians to AED 176,000; commercial renewal rents rose 7% even as new commercial contracts fell 16.16%. Across all three segments, sitting tenants met steeper increases than the headline new-lease rates imply — a market that rewards staying put over signing fresh.

Supply

Supply leaned toward completion this quarter: developers delivered 14,503 units across 52 projects while launching 11,505 units across 30 — a launch-to-delivery ratio of 0.8, leaving a net 2,998 more units delivered than launched. With handovers outrunning new introductions, the quarter added more finished, occupiable stock than fresh off-plan supply — a helpful counterweight for buyers after ready homes in a slower sales market.

Selected launches

• Omya Residences – Jabal Ali First (Pantheon), 416 units
• Coventry Residence – Saih Shuaib 2 (Gfs), 163 units
• Kyomi Residence – Warsan Fourth (Anax), 121 units
• Arlington Park Ii By Majid – Wadi Al Safa 5 (Majid Development Agency), 129 units
• Coventry Residence 3 – Saih Shuaib 2 (Gfs), 185 units
• Arancia Yards By Beyond - Building C – Wadi Al Safa 4 (Beyond), 282 units
• Oxford Cove – Al Barsha South Fourth (Iman Developers), 253 units
• Tresora By Wadan – Al Barsha South Fourth (Wadan), 160 units
• Eltiera Views - Tower 3 – Al Thanyah Fifth (Ellington), 890 units
• Oasis Tower 2 – Al Hebiah Fourth (Dubai Sports City), 444 units
• … and 20 further projects

Selected completions

• Tulip Oasis 10 – Wadi Al Safa 3 (Ame Development), 130 units
• Serenia Living - Tower 4 – Palm Jumeirah (Palma), 226 units
• Golf Vista Heights – Al Hebiah Fourth (London Gate), 209 units
• Marquis Galleria – Al Barsha South 3 (Marquis Circle), 126 units
• Parkside Views – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid (Emaar), 389 units
• Vyb – Business Bay (Ginco), 181 units
• Nas3 – Al Barsha South 3 (Rabdan), 288 units
• Azizi Central – Jabal Ali First (Azizi), 97 units
• Zazen Ivy – Jabal Ali First (Zazen), 73 units
• Arbor View – Al Barsha South 3 (Ellington), 171 units
• … and 42 further projects

Most expensive sales

Top apartment sales

1. AED 171,036,254 – Aman Residences Tower 2, Jumeirah Second
2. AED 121,841,000 – Baccarat Residence T1, Downtown Dubai
3. AED 112,603,000 – Solaya 5, Jumeirah First
4. AED 106,048,000 – Solaya 6, Jumeirah First
5. AED 70,238,323 – Aman Residences Tower 1, Jumeirah Second

Top villa sales

1. AED 145,000,000 – Palm Jumeirah
2. AED 88,800,000 – Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
3. AED 86,000,000 – Emirates Living
4. AED 75,000,000 – Wadi Al Safa 3
5. AED 70,300,000 – Ghadeer Al Tair

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 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 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.