Dubai Real Estate Market Report
May, 2026 Analysis
Fateh Almsaddi, The Founder of DXBinteract
12, Nov 2026
Key takeaways
Dubai recorded 10,279 property sales worth 28.91 billion in May 2026, across all property types, according to DXBinteract analysis of Dubai Land Department (DLD) records. Transaction count fell 44.9% year on year, while the median price per sqft rose 0.9% to 1,640. Developer sales represented 73.9% of transactions.
Dubai Real Estate Market Report · May 2026
Dubai sales fell 45% in May 2026
28.91 billion in sales across all property types; the median price was 1,640/sqft.
By Fateh Al Msaddi, Founder, DXBinteract
Updated 2026-10-16 · Data retrieved 2026-10-16
| Metric | Stored figure | Year-on-year change / basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sales transactions | 10,279 | -44.9% |
| Sales value | 28.91 billion | -56.7% |
| Median sale price per sqft | 1,640/sqft | +0.9% |
| Primary share of sales count | 73.9% | All property types |
| Primary share of sales value | 63.8% | All property types |
Dubai recorded 10,279 property sales worth 28.91 billion in May 2026, across all property types, according to DXBinteract analysis of Dubai Land Department (DLD) records. Transaction count fell 44.9% year on year, while the median price per sqft rose 0.9% to 1,640. Developer sales represented 73.9% of transactions.
Sales value fell 56.7% year on year
Traded value fell faster than sales count while the median price per sqft was almost unchanged. The contrast is consistent with a change in the size or mix of properties sold, but the aggregate figures do not establish a cause.
| Metric | 2026 | Same period 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales count | 10,279 | 18,659 | -44.9% |
| Sales value () | 28,905,483,979 | 66,714,047,601 | -56.7% |
| Median /sqft | 1,640 | 1,625 | +0.9% |
Sales count fell 26.8% from April 2026
In Dubai, May 2026 sales count fell 26.8% against April 2026, across all property types; sales value fell 40.1%, and the median price per sqft fell 8.7%. These are comparisons of stored period snapshots. Seasonal patterns and the mix of transactions can affect period-to-period changes.
Developer purchases account for 73.9% of sales
Dubai developer sales numbered 7,593 in May 2026, or 73.9% of all-property-type transactions, according to DXBinteract analysis of DLD records. Resales numbered 2,686. Primary means bought directly from a developer; it is not a synonym for off-plan, and resales can include homes still under construction.
| Sales channel | Count | Count share | Value () | Value share | Median /sqft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 7,593 | 73.9% | 18,439,611,698 | 63.8% | 1,659 |
| Resale | 2,686 | 26.1% | 10,465,872,281 | 36.2% | 1,545 |
Apartment sales lead with 8,770 transactions
Dubai recorded 8,770 apartment sales in May 2026, the largest count among the property categories in this report. Category medians describe the properties sold; they are not valuations of an unchanged home.
| Category | Sales count | Sales value () | Median sale price () | Median /sqft | Sales-count YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment | 8,770 | 14,548,375,929 | 1,075,200 | 1,644 | -37.4% |
| Building | 4 | 102,228,590 | 864,295 | 1,015 | +300.0% |
| Commercial | 335 | 2,928,134,001 | 3,080,850 | 4,063 | -23.9% |
| Plot | 132 | 4,141,200,688 | 6,250,000 | 702 | -65.3% |
| Villa | 1,038 | 7,185,544,771 | 3,814,000 | 1,455 | -72.9% |
Categories with fewer than 50 sales have small samples: their medians can move sharply when the mix changes. Total medians are calculated for the full population; they are not averages of category medians.
Business Bay leads the reported area ranking by value
Dubai’s May 2026 area table puts Business Bay first by sales value at 2.70 billion, for apartments, villas and commercial property only. This ranking excludes townhouses, plots and buildings, so its values and counts are not the basis for shares of the all-property headline.
| Rank | Area as recorded | Sales value () |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Bay | 2,696,186,142 |
| 2 | Wadi Al Safa 3 | 1,651,478,051 |
| 3 | Dubai South | 1,487,054,565 |
| 4 | Dubai Islands | 1,421,062,250 |
| 5 | Palm Jumeirah | 1,200,522,496 |
| Rank | Area as recorded | Sales count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dubai South | 1,353 |
| 2 | Wadi Al Safa 3 | 983 |
| 3 | Wadi Al Safa 5 | 631 |
| 4 | Al Barsha South Fourth | 549 |
| 5 | Jabal Ali First | 467 |
Area names are reproduced as recorded. A DLD land district can contain several communities; the figures have not been reassigned to a narrower community name.
New apartment leases have a median annual rent of 67,000
Dubai recorded 9,769 new apartment rental contracts in May 2026, with median annual rent of 67,000; 12,540 apartment renewals had a median of 59,000. These are separate groups of recorded contracts, not a measure of the increase faced by an individual renewing tenant.
| Property type | Contract type | Count | Median annual rent () | Median annual /sqft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment | New | 9,769 | 67,000 | 89 |
| Apartment | Renewal | 12,540 | 59,000 | 72 |
| Commercial | New | 1,848 | 110,000 | 109 |
| Commercial | Renewal | 2,381 | 109,147 | 105 |
| Villa | New | 1,445 | 175,000 | 71 |
| Villa | Renewal | 1,480 | 163,000 | 64 |
The rental section covers the listed apartment, villa and commercial categories. The contract date basis is not specified in the stored report, so rental year-on-year changes are not reproduced here without underlying comparison values. Gross or net rental yields cannot be inferred by dividing unrelated citywide rent and sale medians.
2,466 units launched and 2,505 delivered
Dubai’s May 2026 supply summary records 2,466 launched units across 11 projects and 2,505 delivered units across 12 projects. Source: DXBinteract analysis of DLD records. Launches and deliveries describe different stages of supply; their difference is not unsold inventory.
| Stage | Units | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2,466 | 11 |
| Delivered | 2,505 | 12 |
Launched units are not necessarily sold in the same period, and delivered units may have sold in earlier years. These figures do not establish an absorption rate or a forecast of future completions.
The highest listed apartment sale was 112,603,000
Dubai’s May 2026 notable-sale list is led by an apartment transaction of 112,603,000 at Solaya 5. The villa list is led by 145,000,000 in Palm Jumeirah. These are the highest entries in the supplied lists, not claims about all-time records.
| Project as recorded | Area as recorded | Sale price () |
|---|---|---|
| Solaya 5 | Jumeirah First | 112,603,000 |
| Solaya 6 | Jumeirah First | 106,048,000 |
| Serenia Residences Building B | Palm Jumeirah | 50,300,000 |
| Area as recorded | Sale price () |
|---|---|
| Palm Jumeirah | 145,000,000 |
| Emirates Living | 75,000,000 |
| Wadi Al Safa 3 | 72,000,000 |
What these figures mean for buyers, landlords and market observers
Buyers
The Dubai-wide median of 1,640/sqft in May 2026 is a context figure. Location, building, condition, size and the sales channel can all differ from this population. A change in the median is not a like-for-like valuation.
Tenants and landlords
New apartment contracts at a median 67,000 a year and renewals at 59,000 describe different groups. Their gap is not an individual tenant’s rent increase or a property’s net rental yield.
Developers and market observers
Developer purchases represent 73.9% of transaction count, while the supply summary records 2,466 launched units. Transaction counts, launched units and completed units measure different events, so they cannot alone establish how much new supply has been absorbed.
Frequently asked questions
How many properties were sold in Dubai in May 2026?
The stored report records 10,279 sales across all property types in May 2026, worth 28.91 billion. The sales count fell 44.9% compared with the same period in 2025.
What was Dubai’s median property price per sqft in May 2026?
The median sale price per sqft was 1,640 across all property types. This is a transaction-based median, not an asking price or a measure of every home’s appreciation.
What share of Dubai sales came from developers in May 2026?
Primary purchases numbered 7,593, representing 73.9% of all sales by count. Primary means a purchase from a developer and includes more than off-plan sales.
What were Dubai apartment rents in May 2026?
New apartment contracts had a median annual rent of 67,000 across 9,769 contracts; renewals had a median of 59,000 across 12,540 contracts. These are separate contract populations.
How many units were launched and delivered in Dubai in May 2026?
The supply summary records 2,466 launched units and 2,505 delivered units. Launches and deliveries are different stages and do not measure unsold stock.
Methodology and definitions
Source: DXBinteract analysis of Dubai Land Department (DLD) records.
Figures are taken from the stored May 2026 report, retrieved on 2026-10-16. The retrieval date is not a confirmed registration cutoff. Sales count, value and median /sqft in the headline cover every property type. Area rankings and the historical series cover apartments, villas and commercial property only; they exclude townhouses, plots and buildings.
Sales are recorded transactions rather than listings or asking prices. Values are in and areas in sqft. Primary is a purchase directly from a developer; resale is a secondary-market purchase. Neither category establishes construction status. A median is the middle recorded value and cannot be averaged across segments.
Year-on-year sales comparisons, where shown, are recalculated from the corresponding stored 2025 and 2026 period rows on the same property-type basis. Monthly changes use the previous stored month and quarterly changes use the previous stored quarter. Figures may be revised as registrations and stored snapshots change; separately rounded category or channel values can differ slightly from totals.
The 2026 yearly row is incomplete and lacks a precise cutoff. No annual year-on-year percentage, full-year record claim, matched-window historical ranking or annualised forecast is asserted. Rental percentage changes are omitted where prior raw values or date definitions are not supplied. Named supply-project forecasts and rental yields are omitted because this report does not establish their basis.