Market & Data · 4 min read
Dubai Property Market Growth: The Track Record from 2019 to 2026
The EQT Private Office · RERA-registered brokerage · Published August 30, 2026 · Updated September 24, 2026
Dubai Land Department data shows a market that has set new records since 2019. Dubai recorded 204,950 home sales in 2025, its busiest year ever, and another 105,054 in the first eight months of 2026. Ready villa prices reached about AED 1,551 per square foot in 2026, more than double their 2020 level, and ready apartments rose from about AED 880 to about AED 1,424 over the same period. Below, EQT walks through the DLD figures year by year, from the short 2020 slowdown to the record run that followed, and explains what you can take from them as a buyer.
Key takeaways
- •Dubai recorded 204,950 home sales in 2025, the busiest year in Dubai Land Department records.
- •Another 105,054 homes sold in the first eight months of 2026.
- •Ready villas reached about AED 1,551 per square foot in 2026, more than double the 2020 level.
- •Ready apartments rose from about AED 880 per square foot in 2020 to about AED 1,424 in 2026; off-plan apartments sit near AED 1,800.
- •Rental yields in the same data sit at about 6 to 7 percent.
- •After the 2020 slowdown, monthly sales were back above their pre-pandemic level by 2021.
- •All figures are compiled by EQT from DLD transaction data via dxbinteract. They describe the past and are not a forecast.
Dubai home sales, 2019 to 2026
Annual transactions across ready and off-plan apartments and villas. 2025 was the busiest year on record; 2026 covers the first eight months.
Source: EQT analysis of Dubai Land Department transactions (via dxbinteract). Figures are historical and indicative.
Prices kept climbing to record highs
Ready villa prices per square foot rose steadily and reached a record in 2026.
Source: EQT analysis of Dubai Land Department transactions (via dxbinteract). Figures are historical and indicative.
The track record in brief
The chart on this page plots two series from the Dubai Land Department record: annual home sales from 2019 to 2026, and the median price per square foot of ready villas over the same years. The 2026 bar covers January to August only, so it will grow before the year closes.
Both lines tell the same story. Sales volumes climbed to an all-time high in 2025, and ready villa prices, which found their floor in 2020, reached a new peak in 2026.
- •2025 home sales: 204,950, the highest on record.
- •2026 home sales, January to August: 105,054.
- •Ready villas in 2026: about AED 1,551 per square foot, more than double 2020.
- •Ready apartments: about AED 880 per square foot in 2020, about AED 1,424 in 2026.
- •Off-plan apartments in 2026: about AED 1,800 per square foot.
- •Rental yields: about 6 to 7 percent.
2020: a short slowdown and a fast recovery
Sales slowed in spring 2020 during the global lockdowns, as they did in most property markets. Monthly home sales in Dubai went from about 3,900 in February 2020 to a low of about 1,294 in May.
The recovery came quickly. By 2021 monthly sales were back above their pre-pandemic level. Prices, flat for several years before 2020, found their floor that year and started the climb that runs through 2026.
2021 to 2025: the run to a record year
From 2021 the market entered the strongest growth phase in its history. Buyers returned, new residents arrived, and transaction counts climbed until 2025 set the record at 204,950 home sales.
Prices moved with volumes. Ready apartments went from about AED 880 per square foot in 2020 to about AED 1,424 by 2026, a gain of roughly 60 percent. Ready villas did better still and more than doubled.
2026 so far: high volumes and rising prices
The first eight months of 2026 produced 105,054 home sales, an average of more than 13,000 a month. That is over three times the monthly level of February 2020, before the pandemic slowdown.
Value grew too. Market reports put Dubai's first-quarter 2026 transaction value at about AED 252 billion, up 31 percent on the same quarter of 2025. Ready villa prices reached a new high of about AED 1,551 per square foot, and off-plan apartments traded near their all-time high at about AED 1,800.
Prices per square foot by segment
Villas have led the growth. Houses with private outdoor space attracted families and long-term residents, and the supply of villas in established communities is limited. That combination pushed ready villa prices past double their 2020 level.
Apartments grew steadily across both ready and off-plan stock. Off-plan apartments carry a premium over ready ones in the data (about AED 1,800 against about AED 1,424 per square foot), which reflects newer stock and payment plans spread over the build period.
Rents kept pace with prices. Yields of about 6 to 7 percent in the DLD-derived data mean owners have earned income on top of capital growth.
What has driven the growth
Most of the demand since 2021 has come from people who live in the homes they buy or rent them to residents. Freehold ownership for foreign buyers, the 10-year Golden Visa for purchases of AED 2 million or more, a tax regime with no annual property tax, capital gains tax or tax on rental income, a large share of cash purchases, and escrow protection for off-plan buyers under Dubai Law No. 8 of 2007 all supported that base.
For how these same drivers shape prices from here, see our answer to whether Dubai prices will keep rising in 2026; for the segment-by-segment 2026 picture, see the market outlook.
How to use this data as a buyer
Citywide medians show direction. Your purchase depends on one building or one community, so compare recent DLD transactions for the exact unit type you want before you make an offer. The EQT Market Index on our market page and the area pages for communities such as Palm Jumeirah show figures at that level.
Past growth does not guarantee future prices. It does show how the market has behaved for seven years, and for most buyers that record is the best starting point for a long-term decision.
Frequently asked
How much have Dubai property prices grown since 2020?+
Ready villa prices reached about AED 1,551 per square foot in 2026, more than double their 2020 level. Ready apartments rose from about AED 880 to about AED 1,424 per square foot over the same period, according to Dubai Land Department data compiled by EQT.
How many homes were sold in Dubai in 2025?+
Dubai recorded 204,950 home sales in 2025, the busiest year in Dubai Land Department records. A further 105,054 homes sold in the first eight months of 2026.
Did Dubai recover quickly after the 2020 pandemic?+
Yes. Monthly sales fell from about 3,900 in February 2020 to about 1,294 in May, then climbed back above the pre-pandemic level by 2021. The market then entered the strongest growth phase in its history.
Were Dubai property prices still rising in 2026?+
Yes. Ready villas reached a new high of about AED 1,551 per square foot, ready apartments about AED 1,424, and off-plan apartments sat near their all-time high at about AED 1,800. Rental yields held at about 6 to 7 percent.
Is Dubai real estate a good long-term investment?+
The record since 2020 is strong: record sales, prices more than doubled for ready villas, and yields of about 6 to 7 percent, all in a market with no property tax or capital gains tax. History is not a guarantee, so buy on the fundamentals of the specific community and plan to hold for several years.
Where does this data come from?+
EQT compiled the figures from Dubai Land Department transaction data, accessed via dxbinteract. They cover monthly home sales and median prices per square foot for ready and off-plan apartments and villas from 2019 to 2026. They are historical and indicative, not a forecast or a valuation. The first-quarter 2026 transaction value is as reported in market reports.
