Dubai Real Estate Market Report
September 2026
Volumes and values both improved on August, yet September still ran roughly a fifth below the year’s own monthly average — and the most recent price index on record is negative. Every figure below carries the source that published it and the date it was published.
A better month, on a slower year
Dubai registered 16,490 real estate transactions worth AED 50.78 billion in September 2026, on Dubai Land Department figures published by Emirates 24|7 on 1 October 2026. Against August — 15,960 transactions worth AED 46.22 billion, on Dubai Land Department figures published by Voice of Emirates on 1 September 2026 — that is a rise of 9.9% in value and 3.3% in volume. Both percentages are our own calculation from those two published totals.
That is the encouraging reading. The less comfortable one is what September looks like beside the rest of 2026. The nine-month total of AED 574.12 billion across 165,018 transactions averages AED 63.79 billion a month; September’s AED 50.78 billion sits about 20.4% below that average. The first half of the year was materially busier than the third quarter has been, and a single improving month does not reverse that.
The composition of the month is as telling as the total. Only AED 29.66 billion of the AED 50.78 billion was actual sales. Mortgage registrations contributed AED 16.79 billion — a third of all recorded value — and gift transfers a further AED 4.33 billion. Anyone comparing Dubai’s monthly “transactions” against another city’s sales count is not comparing like with like, and we set the baskets out separately below for that reason.
Within sales, off-plan took 7,476 of the 11,431 deals recorded by type but only AED 13.63 billion of the AED 29.66 billion in value. Ready property took fewer deals — 3,955 — and more money, AED 16.03 billion. Those shares work out at 65.4% of volume and 46.0% of value for off-plan, our calculation from the same Emirates 24|7 release. The pattern has held all year: off-plan sells the units, ready stock carries the value.
Where we could not retrieve a figure from a named, dated source, we have left it out rather than estimate it. There is no September price-per-square-foot figure, no September community league table and no September-on-September annual comparison in this report, because none was available from a named source at the time of writing. The gaps are listed in full further down.
September 2026, line by line
Dubai’s monthly data is published by several houses working from Dubai Land Department records, and they do not count the same basket. Each row below carries the publisher and the publication date rather than being reconciled into a single number.
| Indicator | September 2026 | Scope | Source & date |
|---|---|---|---|
| All transaction types | AED 50.78bn / 16,490 | Sales + mortgages + gifts | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Sales | AED 29.66bn / 11,430 | Direct sales only | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Ready sales | AED 16.03bn / 3,955 | Completed property | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Off-plan sales | AED 13.63bn / 7,476 | Under construction | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Mortgage registrations | AED 16.79bn / 4,266 | Res 2,602 · bldg 621 · land 1,043 | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Gift transfers | AED 4.33bn / 796 | Res 616 · bldg 52 · land 128 | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| August 2026 comparison | AED 46.22bn / 15,960 | All transaction types | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Sep 2026 total | AED 574.12bn / 165,018 | All transaction types | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Jan–Sep 2026 sales | AED 379.4bn / 123,416 | Direct sales only | DLD via Emirates 24|7, 1 Oct 2026 |
| Latest price index reading | 218.8 pts, −0.2% MoM, −3.1% YoY | ValuStrat VPI, August 2026 | ValuStrat via Dubai Chronicle, 26 Sep 2026 |
| Prime price growth | +10.9% YoY | Knight Frank index, to June 2026 | Knight Frank via Dubai Chronicle, 26 Sep 2026 |
| Commercial sales | AED 24bn / 4,600 | 1 Jan – mid-Sept 2026 | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 22 Sep 2026 |
Sources retrieved 2 October 2026. Percentage changes against August, segment shares and per-deal averages shown elsewhere in this report are TruHauz calculations from the published totals cited above, and are labelled as such where they appear. Figures are as published and may be revised by the Dubai Land Department.
Where the money actually went
Six readings that explain the shape of the month rather than just its size.
Off-plan carried two-thirds of September’s sales by number and under half by value. Dividing one by the other gives an average off-plan ticket of about AED 1.82m — an illustration from AED 13.63bn across 7,476 deals, not a published average price.
Completed stock took the larger share of money on far fewer transactions. On the same illustrative basis — AED 16.03bn over 3,955 deals — the average ready sale was around AED 4.05m, more than double the off-plan figure.
A third of September’s recorded value was mortgage registration, not purchase. Land accounted for 1,043 of those registrations against 2,602 residential — a reminder that much mortgage activity is refinancing and development funding.
Apartments and villas made up the overwhelming majority of September’s deals, with 777 building sales and 910 land sales alongside. We could not source an apartment-versus-villa split for the month, so none is shown.
ValuStrat’s August index was down 0.2% on the month and 3.1% on the year, with apartments −5.3% and villas −1.7% annually, per Dubai Chronicle on 26 September 2026. No September reading was available when this was written.
Offices took AED 19bn across 3,450 units and retail AED 4.8bn across 1,150, with Business Bay first at AED 10bn across 3,115 deals, on DLD figures published by Voice of Emirates on 22 September 2026. This is a year-to-date figure, not a September one.
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Reading September 2026 Properly
Three things the September numbers say that the headline total obscures.
A rising month inside a slowing year
September beat August by 9.9% in value, and that is genuine. But the nine-month average is AED 63.79 billion a month, and 2025 averaged AED 76.58 billion across its full year on the AED 919 billion total cited in the same Emirates 24|7 release. September came in below both. The honest description is a modest recovery from a soft August, not a market returning to its 2025 pace.
Volume and value are telling different stories
Off-plan is 65.4% of deals and 46.0% of value; ready is 34.6% of deals and 54.0% of value. A market where the cheaper segment supplies most of the transactions will show resilient-looking volumes even while average prices soften. Transaction counts alone are a poor guide to pricing, which is why the index reading matters more than the deal count.
The price signal on record is negative
The latest index we could source — ValuStrat for August 2026, via Dubai Chronicle on 26 September 2026 — was down 3.1% year on year, with villas posting their first annual fall since 2021. Prime moved the other way, up 10.9% annually on Knight Frank’s index to June 2026. Dubai is not one market, and a citywide average increasingly hides a widening gap between prime and mainstream.
Nine months in context
Dubai recorded AED 574.12 billion across 165,018 transactions between January and September 2026, described in the Emirates 24|7 report of 1 October 2026 as the second-highest sales value in the market’s history. Sales accounted for AED 379.4 billion across 123,416 transactions, mortgages AED 151.13 billion across 34,910, and gifts AED 43.6 billion across 6,692.
The same release notes that the nine-month figure equals 62.47% of the AED 919 billion recorded in the whole of 2025. That comparison cuts both ways. It confirms 2026 is a very large year in absolute terms; it also implies a monthly pace below 2025’s, since nine twelfths of a year has delivered rather less than nine twelfths of the prior annual total.
Within year-to-date sales, off-plan was 84,090 of 123,416 deals and AED 183.32 billion of AED 379.4 billion in value — 68.1% by count and 48.3% by value on our calculation. Ready stock supplied AED 196.08 billion across 39,320 deals. If you are weighing off-plan against ready property, those two columns are the clearest statement of how the market is actually splitting.
For the months either side of this one, see our August 2026 report and July 2026 report, and the first-half 2026 review for the stronger period this quarter is being measured against. Our handover wave analysis covers the supply landing across 2026 and 2027, which is the main variable behind the softening price readings above.
We were unable to retrieve, from a named and dated source, any of the following for September 2026: a ValuStrat Price Index reading, an average or median price per square foot, a community-level league table by transaction volume, an apartment-versus-villa price split, citywide rental levels or new-lease rents, and a September-2026-versus-September-2025 annual comparison. Rather than estimate them or carry August’s figures forward, we have left them out. Where an August reading is the most recent available, it is labelled as August in the tables above.
September 2026 Market Report FAQ
The questions buyers and owners ask most about the monthly numbers.
Dubai recorded 16,490 real estate transactions worth AED 50.78 billion in September 2026, on Dubai Land Department figures published by Emirates 24|7 on 1 October 2026. That total counts three different activities together: 11,430 sales worth AED 29.66 billion, 4,266 mortgage registrations worth AED 16.79 billion, and 796 gift transfers worth AED 4.33 billion. If you only want sales — the number most people mean by “transactions” — the figure is 11,430, not 16,490. Monthly totals quoted by different research houses differ mainly because they include different baskets, so always check which one a headline is using.
Better on both measures, but from a low base. August 2026 saw 15,960 transactions worth AED 46.22 billion, on Dubai Land Department figures published by Voice of Emirates on 1 September 2026. September’s AED 50.78 billion is 9.9% higher in value and 3.3% higher in volume — our own calculation from those two published totals. The important qualifier is that September still ran below the year’s own pace: the January–September average works out at AED 63.79 billion a month, so September came in roughly a fifth under it. The month was an improvement on August rather than a return to the first half’s levels.
Off-plan accounted for 7,476 of the 11,431 sales recorded by type in September 2026, which is 65.4% by count, but only AED 13.63 billion of AED 29.66 billion in value, which is 46.0% — both percentages are our calculation from the Dubai Land Department figures published by Emirates 24|7 on 1 October 2026. The gap matters: off-plan dominates the number of deals while ready property still carries most of the money. Across January to September, off-plan was 68.1% of sales by count and 48.3% by value on the same basis.
The most recent index reading we could retrieve from a named source is for August, not September. ValuStrat’s Dubai residential price index stood at 218.8 points in August 2026, down 0.2% on the month and down 3.1% year on year, with apartments down 5.3% and villas down 1.7% annually — the villa segment’s first annual decline since 2021 — as reported by Dubai Chronicle on 26 September 2026. Prime property has moved the other way: Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index to June 2026 put Dubai luxury prices up 10.9% year on year. We have not published a September index reading because none was available from a named source when this report was written.
Mortgage registrations totalled AED 16.79 billion across 4,266 transactions in September 2026, which is 33.1% of the month’s AED 50.78 billion total by value — the percentage is our calculation from the Dubai Land Department figures published by Emirates 24|7 on 1 October 2026. Those registrations split into 2,602 residential units, 621 buildings and 1,043 land plots. A mortgage registration is not the same thing as a sale, and the same property can appear in both the sales and mortgage counts in the same month, which is one reason headline transaction totals should not be read as a count of properties changing hands.
Dubai recorded AED 574.12 billion across 165,018 transactions between January and September 2026 — described as the second-highest sales value in the market’s history — on Dubai Land Department figures published by Emirates 24|7 on 1 October 2026. That same report notes the nine-month figure represents 62.47% of the AED 919 billion recorded across the whole of 2025. On a simple pro-rata basis 2025’s full year averaged AED 76.58 billion a month against 2026’s nine-month average of AED 63.79 billion, so 2026 is running at a lower monthly pace than 2025 despite the large headline total. We could not retrieve a September-2026-versus-September-2025 comparison from a named source, so none is given here.
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