Dubai Residential Market: August 2026 Trends and Outlook

An overview of residential sales, community price movements and the delivery pipeline shaping Dubai’s property market.

Dubai’s residential market recorded AED 24.43 billion in sales across 11,440 transactions in August 2026. Apartments accounted for most transactions, villas maintained positive annual price growth, and off-plan properties represented more than seven in ten transactions. Alongside sales activity, residential handovers, new project releases and infrastructure announcements added to the month’s market picture.

According to REIDIN’s August 2026 Residential Market Overview, total sales value was 7.8% lower than July, while transaction volume declined 14.6%. Within these totals, performance varied by property type, price bracket and community, highlighting the importance of viewing Dubai’s residential market through its individual segments.

Apartment and villa sales

Apartments recorded 10,039 transactions worth AED 15.78 billion, representing approximately 88% of residential sales volume. Homes priced below AED 2 million accounted for 8,073 apartment transactions, or roughly four in five purchases within the segment.

Villas generated AED 8.65 billion across 1,401 transactions. Compared with July, villa sales value increased 3.5% and volume rose 0.5%, with transaction numbers in the AED 3–10 million brackets growing by approximately 26–30%. Apartment sales value and volume were 12.9% and 16.4% lower, respectively.

Figure 1. Monthly sales performance by property type. Source: REIDIN, August 2026 report, printed page 12.

The average residential transaction value increased from approximately AED 1.98 million in July to AED 2.14 million in August, calculated from the report’s totals. This reflects the mix of homes sold during each month; changes in average transaction size should be considered separately from price movements for comparable properties.

Residential price trends

REIDIN’s apartment price trend stood at AED 1,779 per sq ft, while the villa trend reached AED 2,297 per sq ft. Monthly changes were modest, at −0.03% for apartments and −0.34% for villas.

On an annual basis, villa prices were 2.3% higher, while apartment prices were 1.3% lower. Both trends remained below their February 2026 peaks, by approximately 3.6% for villas and 5.2% for apartments.

Figure 2. Dubai residential price trends, August 2025–August 2026. Source: REIDIN, August 2026 report, printed page 3.

These citywide measures provide a useful reference for market direction. As moving averages of median transaction prices, they are best read alongside community trends and recent transactions involving comparable homes.

Community price movements

Price movements varied across established residential locations. Among apartments, The Views increased 0.96%, Downtown Dubai 0.59% and Business Bay 0.31% month on month. Other locations recorded adjustments, including DIFC at −2.35% and Al Sufouh at −1.83%.

In the villa segment, The Meadows rose 1.59% and Palm Jumeirah 1.15%, while Dubai Hills Estate declined 2.78%, The Lakes 2.71% and Jumeirah Islands 2.59%.

Palm Jumeirah remained the highest-priced location among those presented in the report, at AED 3,164 per sq ft for apartments and AED 6,593 per sq ft for villas.

Other villa communities also recorded gains, including District One at 1.09%, Emirates Hills at 0.94%, Al Barari at 0.81% and Jumeirah Golf Estates at 0.67%. Six of the ten highest-priced villa locations shown in the report increased month on month, compared with three of the ten apartment locations.

The range of outcomes reinforces the value of local evidence. Community, property type and the characteristics of an individual home all help explain how its position relates to the wider market.

Off plan and ready property sales

Off-plan properties generated AED 16.10 billion across 8,224 transactions, accounting for 65.9% of total residential sales value and 71.9% of volume. Ready homes contributed AED 8.33 billion across 3,216 sales.

Figure 3. Residential sales by construction status. Source: REIDIN, August 2026 report, printed page 10.

Azizi Venice led off-plan apartment activity with 1,481 transactions worth AED 1.20 billion. Sobha Sanctuary led off-plan villa sales with 169 transactions worth approximately AED 971 million.

In the ready market, Downtown Dubai led apartment sales value, Jumeirah Village Circle led apartment transaction volume, and Palm Jumeirah led villa sales value. These different activity centres show how the composition of the market changes when viewed by construction status and property type.

Locations leading sales activity

Across all residential sales, Azizi Venice led both value and volume, with AED 1.20 billion across 1,481 transactions. Sobha Sanctuary followed by value at AED 1.09 billion, ahead of Business Bay at AED 1.08 billion and Palm Jumeirah at AED 970 million.

The ranking by transaction numbers presented a different mix. After Azizi Venice, City of Arabia recorded 820 transactions, Jumeirah Village Circle 741 and Jebel Ali Downtown 718. These figures illustrate how a location with many smaller transactions can rank highly by volume, while areas with larger individual purchases feature more prominently by value.

In off-plan apartments, City of Arabia and Business Bay each recorded approximately AED 720 million in sales after Azizi Venice. In off-plan villas, Damac Island City generated AED 540 million across 163 transactions, following Sobha Sanctuary in both value and volume among the listed leaders.

Within the completed market, Downtown Dubai recorded AED 510 million in apartment sales, followed by Dubai Marina at AED 470 million and Business Bay at AED 360 million. JVC led ready apartment volume with 370 transactions. Palm Jumeirah led ready villa value at AED 500 million, while Damac Lagoons led ready villa volume with 69 sales.

Primary and secondary sales

Primary sales—the first registered sale by a developer or project owner—accounted for 7,925 transactions worth AED 14.34 billion, representing 69.3% of volume and 58.7% of value. Secondary sales, or subsequent resales, totalled 3,515 transactions worth AED 10.10 billion.

Apartments represented 92.2% of primary transaction volume. Villas made a larger contribution to secondary sales value, generating AED 5.32 billion, compared with AED 4.78 billion for apartments.

These figures complement the off-plan and ready breakdown. Construction status and sale history describe different features of a transaction: an off-plan home can be resold before completion, while a completed property may still be sold for the first time by its developer. Separating the two classifications gives a clearer view of how activity is distributed.

Cash and mortgage purchases of ready homes

The ready residential market showed a broadly even split by funding classification. Transactions classified as cash purchases totalled AED 4.24 billion across 1,704 sales, representing 50.9% of value and 53.0% of volume. Mortgage-backed purchases accounted for AED 4.09 billion across 1,512 transactions.

Palm Jumeirah led cash purchase value at AED 620 million, followed by Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina. Damac Lagoons led mortgage-backed purchase value at AED 220 million, with Mudon and Dubai Hills Estate also among the leading locations. JVC recorded the highest transaction volume in both categories.

This analysis covers ready residential sales only. REIDIN classifies transactions with a recorded finance value as mortgage-backed and those without one as cash purchases; refinancing and other secured lending transactions are excluded.

Luxury residential transactions

Properties valued at AED 10 million and above recorded 253 transactions worth AED 5.71 billion. Calculated from the report’s totals, this represented approximately 23.4% of residential sales value and 2.2% of transactions.

Luxury activity included 165 off-plan transactions worth AED 3.43 billion and 88 ready transactions worth AED 2.28 billion. Villas contributed AED 3.57 billion across 156 luxury sales, while apartments accounted for AED 2.14 billion across 97 transactions. The largest reported transaction was an AED 160 million ready villa in District One, while Palm Jumeirah accounted for three of the five largest villa transactions.

Business Bay led off-plan luxury sales value at AED 485.5 million, followed by Jumeirah Golf Estates at AED 368.1 million and Palm Jebel Ali at AED 308.5 million. In ready luxury sales, Palm Jumeirah led at AED 619.4 million, followed by Emirates Hills at AED 307.8 million and District One at AED 180 million.

The highest-value apartment sale was AED 86 million at The Address Jumeirah Resort Tower 2. Other major apartment transactions included ORLA Infinity by Omniyat and Jumeirah Residences Asora Bay. Together with the villa transactions, these sales show activity across completed prime properties and developments under construction.

Off-plan properties represented 60.1% of luxury sales value, showing the contribution of developments under construction to this segment. The report’s upper ticket-size band recorded lower sales value and volume than July for both apartments and villas, placing August’s individual transactions within the broader monthly picture.

Residential completions and upcoming supply

Dubai recorded 33,500 residential completions through August 2026, comprising 11,905 units in Q1, 14,641 in Q2 and 6,954 in Q3 through August.

Business Bay led completed supply with 3,883 homes, followed by Damac Lagoons with 3,540, JVC with 3,298, Dubai Hills Estate with 2,272 and Arjan with 2,054.

As of 31 August, developers had announced 1,152 units for the remainder of Q3 and 84,885 units for Q4. These figures represent scheduled deliveries, with actual completion dates subject to changes in project timelines.

Figure 4. Completed residential supply and developer-announced deliveries. Source: REIDIN, August 2026 report, printed page 17.

The remaining announced Q3 pipeline comprised 438 units in Dubai Media City, 424 in JVC, 248 in Mudon and 42 in Arjan. The report identifies JVC, Business Bay, Damac Lagoons, Azizi Venice and Dubai Hills Estate as major concentrations of upcoming supply overall. As projects reach completion, the location, type and timing of new homes will help shape the choices available across these communities. Delivery progress, sales and leasing activity will provide further context for assessing how this supply is absorbed.

Understanding the outlook at property level

August’s figures present a varied residential market: apartments accounted for most sales, villa transaction activity increased modestly, and off-plan properties continued to represent the largest share of registrations. Community price movements and upcoming deliveries add further detail to this picture.

For property owners, investors and lenders, the relevance of these trends depends on the asset being assessed. Citywide statistics establish context, while recent comparable transactions and property characteristics support a more specific understanding of value.

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