Dubai high end real estate market sees boost as luxury property sales continue to climb

Dubai’s high-end residential market carried strong momentum from 2025 into early 2026, with premium deal flow holding firm across waterfront districts, branded projects and major off-plan launches.

Dubai Media Office reported more than 270,000 real estate transactions worth about $249.9bn (AED917bn) in 2025.

The residential sales alone were at about $148.3bn (AED544.2bn) across 205,400 deals, including 500 home sales above $10 million (AED36.7 million).

Q1 2026 kept that pace going with 45,158 residential transactions worth about $37.4bn (AED137.3bn) in the quarter.

Savills recorded roughly 45,208 deals and said off-plan stock accounted for 72 per cent of all transactions. Buyers kept writing cheques for future inventory as developers widened the luxury pipeline.

Dubai real estate palm jumeirah — Dubai luxury villa rentals above AED1m generated $170m in annualised contract value in the first five months of 2026, led by Palm Jumeirah

Super prime buyers keep closing bigger tickets

Knight Frank’s quarterly data shows how quickly Dubai’s upper tier has scaled. Sales above $10 million (AED36.7 million) reached 111 in Q1 2025, then 143 in Q2 2025.

The full year 2025 closed with 500 such transactions. Q1 2026 added another 193 deals, which Knight Frank identified as the highest quarterly total ever recorded.

Savills, using a wider premium bracket, tracked 2,064 transactions above $2.7 million (AED10 million) in Q1 2026. Activity at the top end is no longer confined to a narrow trophy segment.

Palm Jumeirah continued to lead the city’s super prime trade in Q2 2025 with 28 homes sold above $10 million. La Mer followed with 23, while Downtown Dubai posted 16.

Knight Frank’s Prime Index across 10 luxury communities averaged about $1,049 (AED3,850) per sq ft in Q2 2025. Pricing moved higher again in Q1 2026.

Palm Jumeirah reached about $1,233 (AED4,525) per sq ft, while Emirates Hills climbed to about $1,441 (AED5,288) per sq ft. Core districts kept absorbing capital at elevated rates.

Launch pipeline widens the luxury offer

Off-plan inventory remains the main engine of transaction flow. Knight Frank said 32,607 off-plan homes were sold between January and March 2026, against 12,551 ready units.

Savills linked premium activity to launches in communities including The Oasis, Palm Jebel Ali and Eden Hills. Developers are not waiting for secondary stock to loosen. New supply is pulling demand forward.

CBRE’s 2025 branded residences research points to another force lifting the luxury segment. CBRE recorded more than 7,700 branded unit sales worth nearly $13.6bn (AED50bn) in the first nine months of 2025.

Branded projects accounted for 5 per cent of market volume and 14 per cent of market value during that period.

Completed branded inventory stood at only 18,500 units, concentrated in Palm Jumeirah, DIFC, Downtown and Business Bay. Scarcity in ready stock keeps buyers focused on launch windows and early allocations.

Market depth supports pricing power

Citywide residential pricing was at about $527 (AED1,933) per sq ft in Q1 2026. Apartment values reached about $510 (AED1,872) per sq ft. Villa pricing rose to about $646 (AED2,369) per sq ft.

Prime neighbourhoods averaged about $1,176 (AED4,317) per sq ft at quarter-end. Pricing strength remains concentrated in districts where supply stays selective, and buyer budgets run deeper.

Dubai’s upper tier has moved beyond sporadic headline deals. Official 2025 totals, record super prime volumes, deeper trading above $2.7 million and continued off-plan absorption all point to a market with broader capital depth at the top end.

Dubai Media Office said 2025 pushed the sector into a more advanced and mature phase. Luxury sales data from 2025 and Q1 2026 show that the phase is still running.