Dubai real estate barometer: Q3 2026
Every month, Cevitas Real Estate publishes a barometer of Dubai's residential market computed solely from Dubai Land Department (DLD) open data: registered sales, median prices, off-plan and ready, communities and rents. This edition covers Q3 2026 and the month of September 2026, with data up to October 16, 2026. Free to reuse with credit.
- 32,698sales in Q3 2026 · −35.9% YoY
- AED 1,686median per sq ft · −1.4% YoY
- 73.5%of sales off-plan
- AED 58.7bnvalue of the quarter's sales
- 162,761rent contracts started in Q3 2026
Key figures to remember
- 32,698 residential sales were registered with the Dubai Land Department in Q3 2026, −35.9% on Q3 2025 and −2.5% on Q2 2026. Their combined value reached AED 58.7 billion.
- The median price stood at AED 1,686 per sq ft (AED 18,143 per m²) in Q3 2026, −1.4% year on year.
- Off-plan sales made up 73.5% of the quarter's transactions (76.1% a year earlier), worth AED 40.1 billion.
- From January to September 2026, 106,857 sales were registered, −18.2% on the same period of 2025.
- Dubai World Central was the most active community of the quarter with 4,676 sales, ahead of Jumeirah Village Circle (2,350) and Downtown Jebel Ali (1,897).
- 41.9% of the quarter's sales were below AED 1 million, against 27.8% in Q3 2025; 74.4% were below AED 2 million. Apartments account for 91.8% of sales.
- 162,761 residential rent contracts (Ejari) started in Q3 2026 (−0.7% year on year), including 74,932 new leases, +14.4% on Q3 2025.
- Median annual rent of contracts started in Q3 2026: AED 60,000 for a one-bedroom apartment (+3.5% year on year) and AED 80,000 for two bedrooms (+6.0%).
Source: Cevitas Real Estate barometer based on Dubai Land Department data, Q3 2026.
Sales and prices: Q3 2026 and September 2026
| Period | Sales | Value | Off-plan | Median / sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32,698 | AED 58.7bn | 73.5% | AED 1,686 |
| Q2 2026 (previous quarter) | 33,527 | AED 67.6bn | 78.0% | AED 1,709 |
| Q3 2025 (a year earlier) | 51,032 | AED 105.1bn | 76.1% | AED 1,709 |
| Change vs Q2 2026 | −2.5% | −13.1% | −4.5 pts | −1.4% |
| Change vs Q3 2025 | −35.9% | −44.1% | −2.6 pts | −1.4% |
| September 2026 | 9,886 | AED 18.5bn | 71.3% | AED 1,653 |
| August 2026 (previous month) | 10,632 | AED 19.2bn | 73.9% | AED 1,699 |
| September 2025 (a year earlier) | 18,003 | AED 36.6bn | 77.7% | AED 1,701 |
| Change vs August 2026 | −7.0% | −3.6% | −2.6 pts | −2.7% |
| Change vs September 2025 | −45.1% | −49.5% | −6.5 pts | −2.8% |
| January to September 2026 | 106,857 | AED 221.9bn | 74.7% | — |
| January to September 2025 | 130,596 | AED 281.4bn | 71.2% | — |
Off-plan share change in percentage points. Median price per m²: AED 18,143 in Q3 2026, AED 18,392 in Q2 2026, AED 18,395 in Q3 2025. Year-to-date totals carry no median price (computed per period).
Monthly sales: off-plan and ready
Off-planReady (existing)
Median price per sq ft since 2019
| Year | Residential sales | Quarters covered |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 30,873 | full year |
| 2020 | 26,430 | full year |
| 2021 | 46,966 | full year |
| 2022 | 74,489 | full year |
| 2023 | 108,220 | full year |
| 2024 | 154,514 | full year |
| 2025 | 181,757 | full year |
| 2026 | 106,857 | 3 / 4 |
The 15 most active communities in Q3 2026
Ranked by registered residential sales in Q3 2026, by DLD community (master project), or DLD area where no community is registered. Compared with Q3 2025: sales change shown from 100 sales a year earlier (recent communities start from very low bases), price change from 30 sales.
Q3 2026Q3 2025
| Community | Sales Q3 2026 | 1-yr chg. | Off-plan | Median / sq ft | 1-yr price chg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai World Central | 4,676 | +231.4% | 99.2% | AED 1,720 | +13.3% |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 2,350 | −55.6% | 50.0% | AED 1,408 | −4.7% |
| Downtown Jebel Ali | 1,897 | +971.8% | 98.4% | AED 1,727 | +28.7% |
| City of Arabia | 1,673 | +1329.9% | 98.8% | AED 1,711 | +8.2% |
| Dubai Land Residence Complex | 1,098 | −43.4% | 86.1% | AED 1,358 | −4.9% |
| Majan | 996 | −12.7% | 89.0% | AED 1,419 | +4.8% |
| Business Bay | 914 | −77.8% | 38.8% | AED 2,097 | −20.0% |
| Dubai Investment Park First | 768 | — | 96.0% | AED 1,079 | +6.7% |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 751 | −29.5% | 69.2% | AED 2,536 | +3.3% |
| Arjan | 707 | −9.8% | 61.0% | AED 1,557 | +10.0% |
| Motor City | 671 | −62.0% | 85.1% | AED 1,744 | −9.7% |
| International Media Production Zone | 656 | −59.0% | 69.2% | AED 1,405 | +1.2% |
| DAMAC Lagoons | 549 | +346.3% | 100.0% | AED 1,695 | −2.9% |
| Dubai Marina | 497 | −35.4% | 6.6% | AED 2,089 | −2.8% |
| Dubai South Residential District | 476 | −27.1% | 71.0% | AED 1,270 | +8.4% |
Apartments, villas and price bands
| Type | Sales Q3 2026 | 1-yr chg. | Median price | Median / sq ft | 1-yr price chg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 30,027 | −37.5% | AED 1,089,888 | AED 1,695 | −2.6% |
| Villas and townhouses | 2,671 | −10.2% | AED 3,500,000 | AED 1,528 | +7.9% |
Q3 2026Q3 2025
| Price band | Sales Q3 2026 | Share | Share Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under AED 1M | 13,692 | 41.9% | 27.8% |
| AED 1–2M | 10,633 | 32.5% | 41.6% |
| AED 2–3M | 4,174 | 12.8% | 15.5% |
| AED 3–5M | 2,871 | 8.8% | 10.2% |
| AED 5–10M | 975 | 3.0% | 3.6% |
| AED 10M and above | 353 | 1.1% | 1.4% |
Rent contracts (Ejari)
162,761 single-unit residential rent contracts started in Q3 2026 (74,932 new leases, 87,829 renewals), against 163,927 in Q3 2025. Median annual rents by home type:
| Home | Contracts Q3 2026 | Median annual rent Q3 2026 | Median rent Q3 2025 | 1-yr chg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 28,293 | AED 40,000 | AED 40,000 | 0.0% |
| 1-bedroom apartment | 59,011 | AED 60,000 | AED 57,999 | +3.5% |
| 2-bedroom apartment | 46,104 | AED 80,000 | AED 75,500 | +6.0% |
| 3-bedroom apartment | 9,836 | AED 125,000 | AED 117,000 | +6.8% |
| 3-bedroom villa | 8,393 | AED 150,000 | AED 150,000 | 0.0% |
| 4-bedroom villa | 6,315 | AED 210,000 | AED 210,000 | 0.0% |
New leasesRenewals
Reading the figures
« The Dubai Land Department figures for Q3 2026 describe a market that is still active: 32,698 registered residential sales and a median price of AED 1,686 per sq ft. The off-plan share, 73.5%, shows the place new projects hold in buying decisions. For international buyers, the value of this data is to compare communities on actually registered transactions, then to look at each project in detail. On the rental side, 162,761 contracts started in the quarter, 74,932 of them new leases: rental demand remains a useful benchmark for reading the market. »
These figures describe past transactions. They are neither a forecast, a valuation nor investment advice.
Cite this barometer
Journalists, bloggers, researchers: the figures, tables and charts of this barometer are free to reuse, provided you credit the source and link to this page. Suggested citation:
Source: Cevitas Real Estate barometer based on Dubai Land Department data, cevitas.ae (Q3 2026) — https://www.cevitas.ae/en/dubai-real-estate-barometerThe underlying data is published by the Dubai Land Department under the Dubai Open Data Licence. Questions or interview requests: ahmed@cevitas.ae · +971 55 772 2710.
Methodology and sources
Sales: Dubai Land Department "Real Estate Transactions" dataset (data.dubai, dataset 470061), files transactions_2026-10-19_17-48-28_0001.csv.gz, transactions_2026-10-19_17-48-28_0002.csv.gz, extracted on October 19, 2026. Sales registered up to October 16, 2026.
Filters: transaction group "Sales", usage "Residential", apartments (including stacked townhouses and hotel apartments) and villas; price ≥ AED 100,000, area ≥ 15 m², price per m² between AED 1,500 and 250,000 to exclude data-entry errors. Off-plan = registration type "Off-Plan Properties"; ready = "Existing Properties". Reference date: transaction date (instance_date).
Median prices: for each period, the plain median of sale price divided by registered area (procedure_area, in m²); price per sq ft = price per m² / 10.7639. The median is less sensitive than the mean to exceptional deals, but it depends on the mix of homes sold in the period. Sales value = sum of registered prices (actual_worth).
Communities: DLD "master project" (or DLD area when none is registered); ranked by the quarter's sales, price change shown when there were at least 30 sales a year earlier.
Rents: DLD "Rent Contracts" (Ejari) dataset (dataset 468586), 11 files extracted on October 19, 2026; single-unit residential contracts (apartment or villa, bedrooms known), annual rent between AED 10,000 and 5,000,000, each contract counted once, period = contract start date; new leases = registration type "New".
Periods: latest complete month and quarter before the end of the extract, compared with the previous period and with the same period a year earlier. DLD data can be completed afterwards: the latest figures may move slightly from one edition to the next.
Calculations: Cevitas Real Estate (the site's scripts, refreshed monthly). No data from outside the DLD is used.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
How many property sales were there in Dubai in Q3 2026?
32,698 residential sales were registered with the Dubai Land Department in Q3 2026, worth AED 58.7 billion, −35.9% on Q3 2025.
What is the price per sq ft in Dubai?
The median residential sale price was AED 1,686 per sq ft (AED 18,143 per m²) in Q3 2026, based on DLD-registered transactions. It varies widely by community: see the communities table.
What share of Dubai sales is off-plan?
In Q3 2026, 73.5% of registered residential sales were off-plan, against 76.1% in Q3 2025.
Can I reuse the figures of this barometer?
Yes, freely, crediting "Source: Cevitas Real Estate barometer based on Dubai Land Department data, cevitas.ae (Q3 2026)" with a link to this page. The tables can be downloaded as CSV.
To prepare your purchase, read our guide to investing in Dubai real estate and our UAE real estate guide.