DUBAI’S PROPERTY MARKET SURGES TO AED 355 BILLION WITH 20,500+ NEW UNITS DELIVERED.
Espace Real Estate, one of Dubai’s leading residential brokerages, has released its H2 2025 market report, revealing that Dubai’s real estate market maintained its strong upward trajectory in H2 2025, with total sales value rising to AED 355 billion, a 23% increase compared with H2 2024. Sales volumes also grew by 16% year-on-year, reaching 115,928 transactions across the residential and commercial sectors, reflecting sustained demand and the continued strength of Dubai’s economic fundamentals.
“In H2 2025, Dubai’s real estate market, spanning both residential and commercial sales, continued to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth. Transaction volumes remained robust, buoyed by sustained demand across off-plan, ready and commercial assets,” said John Lyons, Managing Director at Espace Real Estate.
Off-plan remained the engine of growth throughout the second half of the year, accounting for 70 per cent of all residential transactions. This trend reflects both the scale of new supply entering the market and the strong pace of project launches seen in 2025. Binghatti led the off-plan segment with more than 13,000 units launched, followed by DAMAC Properties with 6,588 units and Emaar with 6,262.
Developers delivered 20,536 new residential units in H2 2025, representing a modest 5 per cent increase from the same period last year. However, the distribution of new supply remained heavily weighted toward apartments, which accounted for 82 per cent of all completions. With only 3,777 villas and townhouses delivered, the supply imbalance continued to support upward pricing pressure in established villa communities across the city.
The commercial market also recorded steady activity in H2. The office sector accounted for the largest share of commercial transactions at 38 per cent, driven by business expansion and new market entrants seeking Grade A and well-located office space. Land transactions represented 20 per cent of activity, followed by hotel apartments at 14 per cent and retail units at 13 percent.
While overall sales activity remained strong, community-level insights point to a stabilisation phase emerging across the market. Many of Dubai’s most established residential communities recorded softer resale transaction volumes; however, prices continued to rise in the majority of these areas. This indicates that reduced activity is primarily a result of limited resale supply rather than a downturn in sentiment or demand.
A distinct difference in price appreciation remained evident between the villa/townhouse and apartment segments. Of the 21 villa and townhouse communities tracked in the report, 18 recorded price increases, with an average rise of 15 per cent. By comparison, 8 of the 11 apartment communities saw price growth, but at a more moderate average of 8 per cent. This reflects ongoing supply dynamics, with villa inventory remaining constrained while the apartment market benefits from a higher volume of new completions.
Leasing activity in H2 2025 also reflects a market adjusting to new supply. Total rental volumes increased year-on-year but rebalanced across the city as communities with recently delivered stock captured a greater share of demand. Established apartment districts such as Dubai Marina, JBR and JLT recorded softer leasing activity, while higher-supply communities including JVC and Emaar Beachfront experienced strong growth. A similar pattern emerged in the villa and townhouse segment, where lower volumes in mature communities were offset by notable increases in emerging areas like Tilal Al Ghaf, Al Furjan and Emaar South.
Rental prices continued to rise across most communities, with villa and townhouse rents increasing by an average of 11 per cent year-on-year and apartment rents rising by 4 percent.
This reflects the impact of new inventory becoming available and providing tenants with broader choice across both emerging and established communities.
At Espace Real Estate, buyer activity in H2 2025 continued to highlight Dubai’s strong global appeal. Demand was led by purchasers from the United Kingdom, India and the Netherlands, with significant interest also recorded from Europe, the Middle East and Asia. While the UK has long remained the top source of investors for the brokerage, the breadth of international demand reinforces Dubai’s position as a long-term residential base for globally mobile households.
