Dubai Real Estate Market Update: September 2026

Transaction Values Are Still Rising

Average Prices Have Turned, Even as Value Climbs

A Market Running at Two Speeds

Off-Plan Still Leads, Under a Tighter Regulatory Framework

What This Means Depending on Where You Sit

Talk to Banke About Your Next Move

Dubai Real Estate Insights · Market Update Dubai Real Estate Market Update: September 2026 Dubai's property market is still growing, but the shape of that growth changed noticeably through the summer. Headline transaction values remain at record levels, yet the citywide average price has slipped for the first time in more than five years, and the gap between what's happening at the top of the

market and everywhere else has widened. For a longer-range view of where prices and demand are headed over the next few years, see Banke's Dubai property market forecast for 2026 . This update focuses on what the most recent data actually shows. Transaction Values Are Still Rising Dubai Land Department recorded AED 252 billion in real estate transaction value in Q1 2026 alone, a 31%

year-on-year increase in value on a 6% rise in volume, across roughly 60,300 transactions. Investment transactions specifically reached AED 173 billion, up 22% year-on-year, with foreign investment contributing AED 148.35 billion of that total, up 26%. That momentum carried through the summer. August 2026 brought roughly 11,600 sales transactions worth AED 27.89 billion, with total market activity including mortgages and gift transfers reaching AED 46.22

billion. The average sale ticket climbed to about AED 2.40 million, up from AED 2.37 million in June, and off-plan deals continued to account for roughly two-thirds to 70% of sales volume. Q1 2026: AED 252 billion in total transaction value (+31% year-on-year). August 2026: AED 27.89 billion in sales across roughly 11,600 transactions. Average sale price: about AED 2.40 million, its highest level so

far this year. Average Prices Have Turned, Even as Value Climbs The headline number that separates this period from the rest of the post-2021 cycle: according to Cavendish Maxwell data, Dubai's average residential sales price reached AED 1,636 per square foot in August, down 1.7% year-on-year and 1.3% over the prior three months. That's the first year-on-year decline in the citywide average since February 2021.

Rising transaction value alongside a softer average price per square foot isn't a contradiction — it reflects more supply moving through the market and a widening split between segments, covered below. It's also why total activity and the citywide average can tell two different stories at once, and why anyone tracking the market should look past the single headline figure. A Market Running at Two

Speeds Below roughly AED 2 million, buyers have turned noticeably more price-sensitive, and that segment has softened as increased supply gives buyers more room to negotiate. Above AED 5 million, the picture is the opposite: transactions in that band rose by roughly 30% through the summer, and deals above AED 10 million climbed from 149 in June to 193 in August. The largest single sale

recorded in the period was a AED 79 million transaction at Orla Infinity on Palm Jumeirah. Family-sized villas in the AED 3-5 million range are a useful example of where supply is still tight despite the broader increase in inventory: roughly 95% of 2026 villa handovers in that range were already sold well before completion. Buyers looking specifically in that bracket are still competing for

a limited pool of stock, even as the citywide average price softens elsewhere. Under AED 2 million: softer demand, more buyer negotiating power. AED 5 million and above: transactions up roughly 30% through summer 2026. AED 10 million and above: deals rose from 149 (June) to 193 (August). AED 3-5 million villas: around 95% of 2026 handovers already sold ahead of completion. Off-Plan Still Leads,

Under a Tighter Regulatory Framework Off-plan sales remain the largest single share of the market, at roughly 68-70% of trailing sales volume, but performance now varies far more by individual project and developer than it did a year or two ago. Dubai Land Department and RERA have tightened enforcement around escrow accounts, tying a developer's access to buyer funds more closely to verified construction milestones

and applying stricter contractual penalties for delivery delays. For buyers, that means the due-diligence questions worth asking — escrow status, project completion percentage, and the developer's track record on handover dates — matter more than they did during the early stages of this cycle. The other regulatory point worth flagging for anyone eyeing residency through property: eligibility rules around the Golden Visa were clarified in

late 2025, and cryptocurrency holdings alone no longer qualify. Investors still need to purchase real estate — or invest in a local business — above the standard AED 2 million threshold to qualify. The underlying tax position hasn't changed: there is still no annual property tax and no capital gains tax in Dubai, with the standard 4% DLD transfer fee and registration charges remaining the