Dubai's real estate market is experiencing a significant shift, with average residential prices declining by 1.7% year-on-year in August, marking the first decrease since 2021. This transition to a more measured phase follows a period of strong sales activity and sustained price growth. Residential sales in the first eight months of 2024 also saw a 24% reduction compared to the previous year, totaling nearly AED 270 billion. Off-plan properties continue to be a dominant segment, making up roughly three-quarters of all residential sales in August. While monthly sales figures dipped, attributed to the typical summer slowdown, experts note that the fundamental drivers of demand remain intact, though near-term activity is influenced by fewer property launches and regional uncertainties.

Dubai's real estate market is experiencing a significant shift, with average residential prices declining by 1.7% year-on-year in August, marking the first decrease since 2021. This transition to a more measured phase follows a period of strong sales activity and sustained price growth. Residential sales in the first eight months of 2024 also saw a 24% reduction compared to the previous year, totaling nearly AED 270 billion. Off-plan properties continue to be a dominant segment, making up roughly three-quarters of all residential sales in August. While monthly sales figures dipped, attributed to the typical summer slowdown, experts note that the fundamental drivers of demand remain intact, though near-term activity is influenced by fewer property launches and regional uncertainties.

Dubai's real estate market is experiencing a significant shift, with average residential prices declining by 1.7% year-on-year in August, marking the first decrease since 2021. This transition to a more measured phase follows a period of strong sales activity and sustained price growth. Residential sales in the first eight months of 2024 also saw a 24% reduction compared to the previous year, totaling nearly AED 270 billion. Off-plan properties continue to be a dominant segment, making up roughly three-quarters of all residential sales in August. While monthly sales figures dipped, attributed to the typical summer slowdown, experts note that the fundamental drivers of demand remain intact, though near-term activity is influenced by fewer property launches and regional uncertainties.

Home prices in Dubai have plummeted year-on-year, the first time since 2021, when the impact of Covid-19 pandemic impacted property markets in the UAE, according to Cavendish Maxwell, a leading independent property consultancy in the Middle East.

“After an extended period of exceptional strong sales activity with sustained price increases, the Dubai residential market continues its transition to a more measured phase," said Cavendish Maxwell director and head of valuation Ronan Arthur. "The August data confirms what our in-depth market insight – covering quarterly, six-month and annual statistics and trends – has been telling us for a while: prices are softening and the market is entering a more mature cycle."

As per the figures released by the Dubai-based firm, the city saw average residential price slide 1.7 percent to AED 1,636 per square feet in August compared to the corresponding month in 2025.

Residential sales worth AED 23.4 billion were recorded in August while the year-to-date sales in the first eight months of 2026 was nearly AED 270 billion. But this was 24 per cent less than the sales recorded in the first eight months of 2025.

Around three-fourth of all residential sales in August were off-plan properties. For the unversed, off-plan properties are real estate units purchased before the building is fully constructed.

Around 10,900 homes were sold in August. But these figures are lower than those in July. Cavendish Maxwell said the monthly decline is due to the usual slowdown seen during the summer season.

"The fundamentals that drive Dubai real estate demand in the emirate remain intact, but the near-term outlook is being shaped by a combination of fewer launches, regional uncertainty and a broader normalisation in buyer activity, which will continue to influence transaction levels and price performance," added Arthur.

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