Dubai Real Estate Market Report
Ağustos 2026
Volumes fell back after July, the price per square foot barely moved, and the annual comparison stayed heavily negative. Every figure below is attributed to a named source and a publication date — including the figures we could not source, which we have left out rather than estimated.
What Actually Happened in August 2026
August 2026 broke the two-month run of improving monthly volumes that we reported in July. Residential sales fell back, both off-plan and ready stock declined together, and the annual comparison remained deeply negative. What did not happen is the thing most readers assume from those headlines: prices did not move much at all.
On volume, Projectory Research counted 11,147 residential home sales worth AED 21.43 billion in August 2026, down 11.5% on July, in an analysis of Dubai Land Department data published on 1 September 2026. Off-plan registrations fell 10.8% month-on-month and ready-home sales fell 13.6%. Both halves of the market softened at a broadly similar rate, which is worth noting: this was not a rotation between segments, it was a quieter month across the board.
On price, the same source put the median price per square foot at AED 1,693, against AED 1,680 in July — a move of well under one per cent. The median sale price, by contrast, rose to AED 1.16 million from AED 1.06 million. Those two figures moving at different speeds tells you the mix shifted toward larger units, not that Dubai got more expensive per square foot.
Dubai Market Snapshot — August 2026
Each figure attributed in the table below
August 2026 Headline Indicators
Dubai’s monthly data is published by several houses working from Dubai Land Department records, and they do not count the same basket. Where two sources report a comparable metric differently, both are shown with their scope rather than averaged into a single number.
| Indicator | Ağustos 2026 | Change | Scope | Source & Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All transaction types | AED 46.22B / 15,960 | — | Sales, mortgages and gifts | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Sales | AED 27.89B / 11,600 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Mortgages | AED 14.36B / 3,735 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Gifts | AED 3.97B / 620 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Residential home sales | 11,147 / AED 21.43B | −11.5% MoM | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Off-plan home sales | 8,270 — 74.2% of total | −10.8% MoM | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Ready home sales | 2,877 — 25.8% of total | −13.6% MoM | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Median sale price | AED 1.16 million | Up from AED 1.06M in July | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Median price per sqft | AED 1,693 | +0.8% MoM −1.9% YoY | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Sales volume, annual | — | −35.2% YoY | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Registered value, annual | — | −46.5% YoY | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Off-plan vs ready, annual | — | Off-plan −38.7% / ready −22.5% YoY | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Leading community | Dubai South — 2,079 sales / AED 2.65B | — | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Leading single project | Azizi Venice — 1,503 sales | 13.5% of all August sales | Homes only | Projectory Research on DLD data, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Aug 2026, all types | AED 523.44B / 148,564 | ≈56.96% of full-year 2025 | Sales, mortgages and gifts | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Aug 2026 sales | AED 349.83B / 112,020 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Aug off-plan | AED 169.77B / 76,650 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Aug ready stock | AED 180.05B / 35,370 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Jan–Aug mortgages | AED 134.34B / 30,645 | — | All asset classes | DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026 |
| Q2 2026 residential | 34,850 / AED 84.9B | −31% YoY volume, −45% value | Residential, quarterly context | Betterhomes market report, 20 Jul 2026 |
| Q2 2026 prime AED 15M+ | 578 deals | −59% YoY; off-plan luxury +27% | Residential, quarterly context | Betterhomes market report, 20 Jul 2026 |
Sources retrieved 4 September 2026: Dubai Land Department transaction figures as published by Voice of Emirates, 1 September 2026; Projectory Research analysis of Dubai Land Department data, 1 September 2026; Betterhomes Dubai residential market report for Q2 2026, published 20 July 2026. Figures from different sources are not additive across rows because the scopes differ. We were unable to retrieve a ValuStrat Price Index reading, a community-level annual price table, or citywide rental figures for August 2026 from a named source, so none appear in this report.
Six Figures That Define August 2026
Each of these comes from the sources named above. Where we have divided one published figure by another to make a point, the card says so and shows the inputs.
The single most important number in the month. Against a 46.5% annual fall in registered value, the price of a square foot fell 1.9% over the same twelve months. Volume moved; pricing did not.
Off-plan held roughly three-quarters of transaction volume even as it fell 10.8% on the month. Ready stock took 25.8% and fell slightly faster, at 13.6%.
One development accounted for roughly one in every seven home sales registered in Dubai during August. Community-level rankings in a month like this reflect launch schedules as much as underlying demand.
The top community by transaction count. Illustration: 2,079 of the 11,147 home sales recorded for the month is roughly 18.7% of citywide volume — a share we have calculated from the two published figures.
Illustration: AED 14.36 billion of the AED 46.22 billion recorded across all transaction types is about 31% of August’s total registered value. Lending activity has not followed sales volume down in the same proportion.
Equal to about 56.96% of the AED 919 billion recorded across the whole of 2025, on the same source’s comparison. Illustration: at that pace the year annualises near AED 785 billion (523.44 ÷ 8 × 12), roughly 15% below 2025.
Want this data applied to a specific property?
A citywide median does not price a unit. Tell us the community and the budget — we will tell you what the August data means for that asset.
Reading August 2026 Properly
Three things the August numbers say that the headline percentages obscure.
Buyers bought bigger, not dearer
The median sale price rose from AED 1.06 million to AED 1.16 million while the median price per square foot moved from AED 1,680 to AED 1,693. Illustration: dividing those two movements implies the median unit sold in August was roughly 8–9% larger than July’s, not 9% more expensive. Headlines built on median sale price alone will read that as price growth. It is a change in what was on the market.
One project moved the community table
Azizi Venice registered 1,503 sales, which the source puts at 13.5% of every home sale in Dubai that month, and it sits inside Dubai South — the leading community on 2,079 sales. Strip that single project out and the community ranking looks materially different. Monthly community league tables in Dubai track registration timing at large off-plan launches as much as they track neighbourhood demand.
Ready stock still carries the value
Across January to August 2026, ready stock produced AED 180.05 billion of sales value from 35,370 transactions, against AED 169.77 billion from 76,650 off-plan transactions. Illustration: that is an average of roughly AED 5.09 million per ready transaction against AED 2.21 million per off-plan one. Off-plan wins the volume count; ready stock quietly carries more of the money.
How August Fits the 2026 Story So Far
The eight-month totals give August its proper scale. On Dubai Land Department figures published by Voice of Emirates on 1 September 2026, Dubai recorded AED 523.44 billion across 148,564 transactions in the first eight months of 2026, of which AED 349.83 billion was sales across 112,020 transactions, AED 134.34 billion was mortgages across 30,645 transactions, and AED 39.27 billion was gifts across 5,899 transactions. Within the sales figure, the source breaks out 94,480 residential unit transactions, 8,742 building transactions and 8,794 land transactions.
The same source frames that against 2025: the eight-month total represents approximately 56.96% of the AED 919 billion recorded across the whole of last year. That comparison is the one to hold on to when a monthly headline reports a 46% annual decline. Dubai in 2026 is running below an exceptional 2025, on a base that is still historically very large.
The split between off-plan and ready stock over those eight months is instructive. Off-plan accounted for AED 169.77 billion across 76,650 transactions; ready stock for AED 180.05 billion across 35,370. Off-plan carried roughly two-thirds of the transaction count but slightly less than half the value. If you are weighing the two, our guide to off-plan versus ready property in Dubai sets out what that difference means in practice for a buyer.
For quarterly context, Betterhomes’ Dubai residential market report published on 20 July 2026 recorded 34,850 residential transactions worth AED 84.9 billion in Q2 2026, down 31% by volume and 45% by value year-on-year, while still ranking as the third highest second quarter on record. In the same quarter off-plan held 76% of sales against 24% for the secondary market, and prime transactions above AED 15 million fell 59% year-on-year — though off-plan luxury sales rose 27%. Betterhomes also reported tenant enquiries up 20% year-on-year, a rental-demand signal that has not weakened alongside sales volume.
What we could not source this month
We were unable to retrieve, from a named and dated source, a ValuStrat Price Index reading for August 2026, a community-level annual price-change table for the month, an apartment-versus-villa price split, commercial and office figures, or citywide rental levels. Rather than carry over July’s numbers or estimate them, we have left them out. Where a figure is absent from this report it is because we could not source it, not because it does not exist.
Jan–Aug 2026 — All Transactions
Source: DLD via Voice of Emirates, 1 Sep 2026
Quarterly Context — Q2 2026
Source: Betterhomes report, 20 Jul 2026
Sıkça Sorulan Sorular
The most common questions about Dubai’s August 2026 property data.
Turn Market Data Into a Decision
A citywide median does not tell you what to pay for a specific unit in a specific tower. Our team works from live community-level data and will tell you plainly when the numbers do not support a purchase.
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