Dubai Market Report — May 2026
Sales eased 27.4% on the month; ready apartment prices are 3.5% higher than a year ago
- 19,871 sales worth AED 27.7B were registered in May 2026: -27.4% vs April and -45.9% vs May 2025.
- 2Ready apartments averaged AED 1,753/sqft (AED 18,869/m²), +3.5% vs a year earlier; the citywide price index is 4.2% below its March 2026 high.
- 3Off-plan made up 72% of all sales, against 55% in May 2025; off-plan apartments sold for 14% more per sqft than ready ones.
- 4Dubai South was the busiest community with 1,112 sales (11.3% of the market), ahead of Majan with 824.
- 572% of homes sold for under AED 2M; year to date 2026 has 70,237 sales, -12.4% vs the same months of 2025.
The month in one look
Dubai's property market cooled in May 2026: 9,871 sales worth AED 27.7B were registered with the Dubai Land Department — -27.4% vs April and -45.9% vs May 2025. Off-plan led the market at 72% of all sales (55% a year earlier). Our citywide price index stands at 1.87 (-2.1% on the month, +5.4% on the year), 4.2% below its March 2026 high. Year to date, 2026 has recorded 70,237 sales (-12.4% vs the same period of 2025) worth AED 247.6B.
Sales activity
9,871 sales in May 2026: -27.4% vs April, -45.9% vs May 2025
Sales registered with the Dubai Land Department per month, last 24 months.
Source: dxbpropy.ai — Dubai Land Department records plus live market feeds. Data through 31 May 2026.
So far in 2026 the market has registered 70,237 sales worth AED 247.6B, -12.4% against the same months of 2025. Total value in May 2026 was AED 27.7B (-41.4% on the month, -57.6% on the year). Off-plan accounted for 7,116 of the 9,871 sales and ready homes for 2,755.
Prices — where we stand
Price index 1.87: +43.3% vs the 2014 peak and +75.0% vs the 2021 low
Citywide residential price index, monthly since 2011.
Source: dxbpropy.ai — Dubai Land Department records plus live market feeds. Data through 31 May 2026.
| Segment | AED/sqft in May 2026 | AED/m² | vs April | vs May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments — ready | 1,753 | 18,869 | -4.5% | +3.5% |
| Apartments — off-plan | 2,002 | 21,549 | -11.8% | -2.4% |
| Villas and townhouses | 1,812 | 19,504 | -5.9% | +17.1% |
Ready and off-plan are priced in different markets and are never blended in our statistics.
The long view. The citywide index at 1.87 compares with a 2014-cycle peak of 1.31 and a June 2021 low of 1.07: today's prices are +43.3% against that previous peak and +75.0% against the low. Put differently, AED 1M buys about 570 sqft (53 m²) of ready apartment today, against about 858 sqft (80 m²) in 2016. The index is 4.2% off its March 2026 high — a pause within a still-positive yearly trend.
The index month by month
| Month | Index | On the month | On the year | Ready apt AED/sqft | AED/m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 1.87 | -2.1% | +5.4% | 1,753 | 18,869 |
| Apr 2026 | 1.91 | -2.1% | +7.7% | 1,836 | 19,763 |
| Mar 2026 | 1.95 | +2.1% | +12.4% | 1,649 | 17,750 |
| Feb 2026 | 1.91 | +0.7% | +12.1% | 1,785 | 19,214 |
| Jan 2026 | 1.90 | +1.2% | +13.8% | 1,743 | 18,761 |
| Dec 2025 | 1.88 | +1.4% | +13.8% | 1,724 | 18,557 |
| Nov 2025 | 1.85 | +0.5% | +12.6% | 1,712 | 18,428 |
| Oct 2025 | 1.84 | +0.5% | +12.4% | 1,668 | 17,954 |
| Sep 2025 | 1.83 | +0.4% | +11.0% | 1,608 | 17,308 |
| Aug 2025 | 1.82 | +1.0% | +11.0% | 1,635 | 17,599 |
| Jul 2025 | 1.81 | +1.1% | +10.3% | 1,551 | 16,695 |
| Jun 2025 | 1.79 | +0.6% | +8.6% | 1,656 | 17,825 |
| May 2025 | 1.78 | 0.0% | +7.2% | 1,694 | 18,234 |
What a ready apartment sold for in May 2026
| Size | Sales | Median price | vs May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 532 | AED 560,000 | -2.6% |
| 1 bedroom | 795 | AED 1.05M | +3.4% |
| 2 bedrooms | 444 | AED 2.00M | -0.7% |
| 3 bedrooms | 122 | AED 3.52M | -6.0% |
What buyers paid
72% of homes sold in May 2026 cost under AED 2M
Share of apartment, villa and townhouse sales by price.
Source: dxbpropy.ai — Dubai Land Department records plus live market feeds. Data through 31 May 2026.
| Price band | Share of homes sold, May 2026 | May 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under AED 1M | 40.3% | 30.2% | +10.1 pts |
| AED 1M–2M | 31.6% | 34.7% | -3.1 pts |
| AED 2M–3M | 12.8% | 14.9% | -2.1 pts |
| AED 3M–5M | 8.5% | 11.9% | -3.4 pts |
| AED 5M–10M | 4.2% | 6.0% | -1.8 pts |
| AED 10M and above | 2.7% | 2.5% | +0.2 pts |
Apartments, villas and townhouses; land and whole buildings are left out.
Where the action was
Dubai South led with 1,112 sales, 11.3% of the market
Sales by community, May 2026.
Source: dxbpropy.ai — Dubai Land Department records plus live market feeds. Data through 31 May 2026.
| Community | Sales | Share | vs May 2025 | Total value | AED/sqft | AED/m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South | 1,112 | 11.3% | +131% | AED 1.1B | 1,720 | 18,510 |
| Majan | 824 | 8.3% | 4.2× | AED 669.05M | 1,462 | 15,735 |
| Dubai Land Residence Complex | 568 | 5.8% | -4% | AED 522.28M | 1,410 | 15,180 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 561 | 5.7% | -69% | AED 644.44M | 1,504 | 16,191 |
| Business Bay | 403 | 4.1% | -60% | AED 2.7B | 3,069 | 33,037 |
| Palm Deira | 367 | 3.7% | -5% | AED 1.4B | 3,007 | 32,363 |
| International City Phase 3 | 256 | 2.6% | +139% | AED 151.80M | 1,093 | 11,770 |
| City of Arabia | 246 | 2.5% | 5.0× | AED 170.29M | 1,639 | 17,646 |
| Dubai South Residential District | 204 | 2.1% | +48% | AED 253.38M | 1,424 | 15,323 |
| Arjan | 198 | 2.0% | -41% | AED 241.46M | 1,580 | 17,006 |
What happened in May
The biggest deals registered this month:
- AED 1.1B — entire building in World Trade Centre (20 May)
- AED 300.00M — entire building in Mamzar (25 May)
- AED 280.00M — land parcel in Jumeira Bay (25 May)
19 new off-plan projects appeared on the market this month — among them Raw District by Imtiaz (Imtiaz Developments), Cetara Building A (DAMAC Properties), Cetara Building B (DAMAC Properties).
Rents & yields
Registered leases in 2026 average AED 86,322/year across 456,220 contracts (+3.1% vs 2025). The best net rental yields right now — after service charges — among communities with at least 200 sales to measure:
| Community | Type | Net yield | Gross yield | Service charge per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Legends | Apartment | 7.2% | 7.6% | AED 3.15/sqft · 34/m² |
| DAMAC Hills | Apartment | 7.2% | 7.5% | AED 3.79/sqft · 41/m² |
| Jumeirah Golf Estates | Apartment | 7.0% | 8.0% | AED 12.65/sqft · 136/m² |
| Dubai Sports City | Apartment | 6.5% | 8.3% | AED 14.72/sqft · 158/m² |
| Al Furjan | Apartment | 6.4% | 7.8% | AED 15.77/sqft · 170/m² |
| Discovery Gardens | Apartment | 6.2% | 7.9% | AED 14.13/sqft · 152/m² |
| Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) | Apartment | 6.0% | 7.2% | AED 16.49/sqft · 178/m² |
| Tilal Al Ghaf | Villa | 5.9% | 5.9% | AED 0.62/sqft · 7/m² |
Construction costs — the leading signal for off-plan pricing
Construction cost index 120.6 in Q2 2026: +10.8% on the year
Dubai Statistics Center residential Construction Cost Index (2019 = 100), quarterly.
Source: Dubai Statistics Center.
What this means in practice: the index tracks what it costs a developer to build — materials, labour, machinery — separate from land or sale price.
- Off-plan launch prices: a rising cost index is the main reason developers price new launches above the previous phase in the same community. At the current pace, expect launch prices to keep climbing even where absorption is only moderate.
- Ready prices: built stock was completed at the old cost, so a rising index does not lift it month to month — it raises the replacement cost, which supports resale values over time.
- Value read for buyers: when a launch price runs well ahead of the construction-cost trend, the difference is demand and positioning — check it against ready AED/sqft in the same community.
Supply pipeline
Handover pressure is high: 2026–2028 completions run well above the 2018–23 norm — apartment-heavy districts will feel it first in rents, then prices. Area-by-area handover schedules: dxbpropy.ai/supply.
Outlook — the next 12–24 months
Anchored to today's momentum (+5.4% YoY on the index) and the high supply pipeline, our scenario read:
- Base case — +2%/yr. Continued single-digit growth as demand absorbs new supply.
- Higher case — +6%/yr. Wealth migration and villa/prime scarcity reignite a demand-led leg, as in 2021–24.
- Lower case — -8% then stabilising. Heavy supply meets an external shock; history (2014–16) says such corrections are shallow, area-specific and recover.
The full interactive outlook with the fan chart lives at dxbpropy.ai/predictions. Scenarios are a data-grounded read, not a guaranteed forecast.
What it means for you
Buyers and investors
- The price index is 4.2% below its March 2026 high, so asking prices have more room for discussion than a year ago.
- Off-plan apartments sold for 14% more per sqft than ready ones this month. A ready home in the same community is the natural price check for a new launch.
- For rental income, Living Legends apartments return about 7.2% net after service charges, the highest among communities with enough sales and leases to measure.
Sellers and landlords
- 9,871 sales is 46% fewer than May 2025. Homes priced close to recent sold prices in their building are the ones finding buyers.
- Ready apartments averaged AED 1,753/sqft, +3.5% on the year — the reference point for pricing a resale.
- Registered rents in 2026 average AED 86,322 a year, +3.1% vs 2025 — the reference point for a renewal or a new lease.
Every figure above is computed from the dxbpropy.ai database — official Dubai Land Department records (through May 2026) plus 200 million+ live-market datapoints, growing daily — not estimates. Ready and off-plan segments are never blended. For a report on a specific area, building or budget, ask the AI at dxbpropy.ai.
Definitions
- Median — the middle value: half of the sales were above it, half below. A few very expensive homes move it less than they move an average.
- Price per sqft / m² — the sale price divided by the home's size, so homes of different sizes can be compared.
- Ready vs off-plan — ready homes are built and handed over; off-plan homes are sold before completion. They are priced differently and are never blended in our figures.
- Gross yield — one year of rent divided by the purchase price. Net yield is the same after service charges.
- YoY — compared with the same period one year earlier. MoM — compared with the previous month.