Dubai Residential Market Review — July 2026

July 2026 delivered a stabilising, if modest, month for Dubai's residential market, with total transaction value rising 4.1% month-on-month to AED 35.4 billion across 14,263 deals, a further 1.1% gain in volume. Apartments remained the clear driver of sales activity with 12,125 transactions, while the rental market reached a new cycle high of 40,556 new contracts, up 3.8% from June. Demand concentrated in Jebel Ali, JVC, Business Bay and Dubai Marina. This report covers sales, leasing, off-plan and secondary market performance, the top-performing communities of the month, the mortgage-versus-cash buyer split, and pricing and supply trends, together with an outlook for August.

• AED 35.4B total transaction value, up 4.1% MoM.
• 14,263 transactions, up 1.1% MoM.
• Apartments remained the main driver with 12,125 transactions.
• Rental activity reached 40,556 new contracts, up 3.8% MoM.
• Market activity is stabilising, with stronger demand in Jebel Ali, JVC, Business Bay and Dubai Marina.

• 12,125 apartment transactions led July sales activity.
• Total sales reached 13,495 transactions across residential segments.

Transaction Value

• Total transaction value reached AED 35.4B, up 4.1% MoM.
• Residential sales generated approximately AED 26.9B, representing the largest share of market activity.
• Transaction value remained below the previous year's level, indicating that the market is still in a recovery phase.

Transaction Volume

• July recorded 14,263 transactions, up 1.1% MoM.
• Apartments represented approximately 85% of total transaction volume.
• Residential transactions remained the key driver of overall market activity.
• Stable transaction volumes indicate continued underlying buyer demand.

Dubai's residential rental market remained resilient in July, with leasing activity reaching a new cycle high and demand continuing across key communities.

• 40,556 new rental contracts were recorded, up 3.8% MoM.
• Apartments led rental activity with 23,287 new contracts, while villa rentals reached 3,084 (figure as printed on the source page).
• 40,556 new rental contracts were recorded, up 3.8% MoM. (stat repeated as a callout on the source page)

New Rental Transactions

Leasing recorded 40,556 new contracts in July, increasing 3.8% from June and reaching the highest monthly rental volume of the current cycle. Apartment leases increased 8.8% to 23,287 contracts, approaching pre-disruption levels. Villa rentals also strengthened, rising 3.5% to 3,084 contracts, supported by summer relocation and continued family demand. Commercial leasing eased 3.4% to 14,185 contracts, while overall leasing remained resilient.

Commercial Rental Breakdown

Commercial leasing recorded 14,185 new contracts in July, down 3.4% MoM. Office leasing declined, while demand remained active across industrial and other commercial categories. Industrial leasing increased 16.2%, while the Other category rose 36.2% to 5,328 contracts. The shift highlights continued demand for flexible commercial spaces.

Apartments continued to lead July's residential market, recording 12,125 transactions worth AED 18.7B, with 8,996 off-plan and 3,129 ready-property transactions.

Villa activity remained balanced, with 1,370 transactions worth AED 8.2B. Off-plan sales reached 678 transactions, while ready sales recorded 692, marking a near-even split.

Apartments represented 89.8% of residential transaction volume, while off-plan pricing remained stable at AED 1,850/sq ft and ready-property values softened to AED 1,716/sq ft.

Off-Plan Sales

July's off-plan market remained concentrated in leading development communities.

• Azizi Venice: 1,963 transactions
• Jebel Ali corridor: 989 combined transactions

Secondary Sales

The ready market strengthened, with activity broadening across established communities.

• 3,821 secondary transactions, the highest volume of the current cycle
• JVC led with 487 transactions, followed by Dubai Marina with 200

New Apartment Rentals

Apartment leasing reached a new cycle high, supported by strong demand across key communities.

• 23,287 new leases, up strongly in July
• JVC led with 1,946 leases, followed by Business Bay at 1,127

New Villa Rentals

Villa leasing continued to strengthen, supported by family demand and limited supply.

• 3,084 new leases, up 3.5% in July
• Damac Hills 2 led with 319 leases, followed by Arabian Ranches 3 with 175

Rental demand remained strong across Dubai's key apartment communities. JVC led with 1,946 transactions, followed by Business Bay at 1,127 and Dubai Marina at 1,008. International City and Arjan recorded 942 and 704 transactions, respectively.

Villa rental activity remained concentrated across established family communities. Damac Hills 2 led with 319 transactions, followed by Arabian Ranches 3 at 175 and Mirdif at 153. Damac Lagoons and Springs recorded 120 and 116 transactions.

Mortgage vs Cash Buyers

Cash transactions maintained market leadership, accounting for 70.5% of residential purchases, with 10,624 cash transactions versus 2,871 mortgage transactions. Mortgage participation increased to 29.5%, the highest mortgage market share of the current cycle, continuing the recovery from April's crisis floor.

Total mortgage activity reached 3,986 transactions worth AED 8.3B, with an average loan size of approximately AED 2.08M. Apartment financing recorded 2,500 mortgage transactions against 9,625 cash transactions, representing a 79.4% cash preference.

The villa-specific mortgage/cash split is not reported separately due to an apparent calculation anomaly in the source data, where the mortgage villa figure exceeds total villa transaction volume. However, the aggregate figures of 3,986 mortgage transactions, 9,509 cash transactions and 13,495 total residential transactions are confirmed and consistent with the overall residential transaction count.

Dubai's residential pricing showed a split performance in July, with off-plan values remaining broadly stable at AED 1,850/sq ft, while ready-property values softened 2.2% to AED 1,716/sq ft following June's substantial handovers of 2,638 apartments and 953 villas.

Year-on-year, off-plan pricing remained 8.0% below July 2025, while ready stock was 6.5% above its year-ago level. The three-month stabilisation of off-plan pricing at AED 1,838–1,850/sq ft indicates an increasingly established pricing floor.

Villa supply remained extremely limited, with only 40 units scheduled for delivery in August against 3,084 monthly villa leases. Apartment supply was also constrained, with 572 units arriving against 23,287 monthly leases, supporting near-term pricing stability across both segments.

Sales Price Trends (AED/sqft)

For August, supply remains highly constrained, with 572 apartments and 40 villas arriving against 23,287 apartment leases and 3,084 villa leases. This creates demand-to-supply ratios of approximately 40:1 and 77:1, supporting the case for continued price recovery.

July confirmed a consolidation phase, with transaction values stabilising around AED 34–36B and volumes at 14,000–14,300 transactions. Transaction value increased 4.1% to AED 35.4B, indicating improving momentum.

The villa segment showed selective strength, with value increasing 3.8% despite a 10.6% decline in volume, lifting average deal size by 16.3% to AED 5.99M. Ready and off-plan villa transactions remained nearly balanced at 692 and 678, respectively.

Rental demand reached a cycle-high 40,556 contracts, including 23,287 apartment and 3,084 villa leases. Mortgage participation also reached a cycle-high 29.5%, with AED 8.3B in mortgage activity.

With 2026 YTD transaction value at AED 324.7B, still 17.6% below 2025, strong rental demand, limited supply and recovering mortgage activity point toward a meaningful H2 recovery.