In this report
Did the sales market slow down?
Yes. March recorded 11,860 residential sales, down 17.9% from February. Their total value was AED 25.15 billion, down 21.1%. Activity weakened more than the headline price: the median sale price was AED 1.525 million, up 1.7%, while the median price per square metre fell 0.8%. The month reads as a slowdown in turnover, not evidence of a market-wide price correction.
| March sales | Total sale value (AED) | Median sale price (AED) | Lower quartile sale price (AED) | Upper quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price per square metre (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,860 | 25,149,026,326 | 1,525,000 | 951,722 | 2,556,060 | 18,802 |
Dubai Land Department, residential sale registrations, read 29 October 2026
Were apartments and villas moving together?
No. The apartment median sale price per square metre was almost unchanged from February; the villa median fell 4.0%. Sales counts declined in both groups. Villas sold in March were also smaller on average, so the larger fall in their total ticket price should not be read as an equivalent discount on the same home. Apartment sale prices had a lower quartile of AED 885k and an upper quartile of AED 2.20 million. Villa sale prices had a lower quartile of AED 2.68 million and an upper quartile of AED 4.02 million.
Dubai Land Department, residential sale registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Home type | March sales | February sales | February median sale price per square metre (AED) | March median sale price per square metre (AED) | Monthly change (%) | Lower quartile March sale price (AED) | Median March sale price (AED) | Upper quartile March sale price (AED) | March average size (square metres) | February average size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment | 10,599 | 12,898 | 18,742 | 18,734 | −0.0% | 885,000 | 1,380,639 | 2,199,538 | 86 | 87 |
| Villa | 1,261 | 1,540 | 19,611 | 18,827 | −4.0% | 2,683,800 | 2,903,000 | 4,017,000 | 194 | 213 |
Where did sales activity hold up?
Dubai South led the areas shown with 993 sales, up 4.5% from February. Its median sale price per square metre rose 2.7%. JVT also recorded more sales, while JVC saw fewer deals but a higher median price per square metre. Weaker citywide turnover did not mean every area was weakening. These are the busiest named areas in the residential records, not a ranking of investment returns.
Dubai Land Department, residential sale registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(10 rows)
| Area | March sales | February sales | Sales count change (%) | March median sale price per square metre (AED) | Sale price per square metre change (%) | Lower quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price (AED) | Upper quartile sale price (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South | 993 | 950 | +4.5% | 16,620 | +2.7% | 1,020,000 | 1,450,000 | 1,992,888 |
| JVC | 875 | 1,105 | −20.8% | 16,292 | +3.8% | 828,370 | 1,090,000 | 1,350,000 |
| Al Yelayiss 1 | 786 | 912 | −13.8% | 19,069 | −2.8% | 2,668,665 | 2,824,000 | 3,428,160 |
| Dubai Land | 722 | 841 | −14.1% | 16,207 | +1.2% | 712,181 | 994,260 | 1,361,746 |
| JVT | 411 | 398 | +3.3% | 18,304 | +5.6% | 847,277 | 1,200,000 | 1,395,000 |
| Business Bay | 410 | 551 | −25.6% | 27,571 | +4.0% | 1,440,750 | 2,281,722 | 3,343,707 |
| Dubai Islands | 409 | 596 | −31.4% | 29,952 | −1.4% | 2,408,000 | 2,708,827 | 3,828,828 |
| Motor City | 374 | 428 | −12.6% | 18,807 | +4.5% | 858,984 | 1,271,148 | 1,750,812 |
| Dubai Production City | 369 | – | – | 14,739 | – | 710,000 | 1,062,400 | 1,241,896 |
| Bukadra | 353 | – | – | 31,992 | – | 1,685,958 | 2,097,766 | 2,579,741 |
Were tenants moving or renewing?
Renewing was more common. March recorded 58,559 Ejari contracts, including 34,761 renewals and 23,798 new contracts. Renewals accounted for 59.4% of registrations. This is a count of registered contracts, not a count of occupied homes. The mix points to a month dominated by existing tenancies rather than fresh agreements.
Dubai Land Department, Ejari contract registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Contract type | Registered contracts |
|---|---|
| New contracts | 23,798 |
| Renewals | 34,761 |
Did rents become cheaper in March?
The residential price sample softened. These rent figures cover residential registrations after excluding annual rents below AED 50,000 and rents outside AED 400–4,000 per square metre; they are separate from the broader Ejari contract count. The median annual rent was AED 87,845, down 2.7% from February, and the median annual rent per square metre fell 5.3%. The middle half of rents ran from AED 67,230 to AED 135,464. That supports a softer month in the homes registered, not a claim that every landlord cut the rent.
| March rent registrations | Median annual rent (AED) | Lower quartile annual rent (AED) | Upper quartile annual rent (AED) | Median annual rent per square metre (AED) | Average home size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,709 | 87,845 | 67,230 | 135,464 | 1,073 | 109 |
Dubai Land Department, residential rental registrations, read 29 October 2026
Was rental softening spread evenly?
No. In Business Bay the median annual rent rose 6.1%, yet the median annual rent per square metre fell 9.9%. Larger homes in the month help explain why those signals differ. JVC also had a lower rent per square metre, while Deira moved higher. A citywide median is a useful temperature reading; it is not a renewal quote for a particular apartment.
| Area | March rent registrations | February rent registrations | Lower quartile annual rent (AED) | Median annual rent (AED) | Upper quartile annual rent (AED) | Annual rent median change (%) | March median annual rent per square metre (AED) | Rent per square metre change (%) | March average size (square metres) | February average size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JVC | 475 | 691 | 65,223 | 82,282 | 110,378 | −3.5% | 1,201 | −9.2% | 77 | 79 |
| Dubai Marina | 332 | 549 | 80,275 | 120,412 | 170,835 | 0% | 1,092 | −2.2% | 121 | 115 |
| Business Bay | 276 | 481 | 75,258 | 101,158 | 140,481 | +6.1% | 1,281 | −9.9% | 94 | 87 |
| Deira | 246 | 345 | 61,671 | 77,696 | 106,766 | +0.6% | 1,056 | +5.4% | 97 | 95 |
| International City | 207 | 300 | 60,206 | 80,275 | 120,412 | −13.5% | 1,200 | −18.1% | 73 | 71 |
| JVT | 195 | 295 | 65,223 | 80,275 | 105,361 | +5.3% | 1,350 | −1.7% | 78 | 76 |
| Dubai Silicon Oasis | 185 | 270 | 64,044 | 75,258 | 120,412 | −6.3% | 1,044 | −2.1% | 89 | 93 |
| Downtown Dubai | 182 | 286 | 70,378 | 110,378 | 180,618 | +4.8% | 1,108 | −3.0% | 120 | 104 |
| Dubai South | 174 | – | 65,223 | 80,275 | 114,907 | – | 943 | – | 106 | – |
| Al Nahda | 164 | – | 60,206 | 70,240 | 87,996 | – | 782 | – | 94 | – |
Dubai Land Department, residential rental registrations, read 29 October 2026
What do these records show—and what do they miss?
This edition uses Dubai Land Department residential sale and rental registrations and its Ejari contract counts for March 2026, read on 29 October 2026. February is the month-on-month comparison. Registrations can arrive weeks after a month ends, so these are the records available on the read date. Sale figures describe registered residential sales, not asking prices. All rents are annual.
- Sale records here do not separate ready resale from off-plan purchases; they cannot establish which of those markets drove the month.
- Monthly price medians change with the homes registered, even per square metre; they are not a same-home price index.
- The broader Ejari counts and the filtered residential rent sample cover different populations and should not be treated as interchangeable totals.
- Current listings cannot reconstruct March asking prices, available stock or the discount from asking to paid prices.
- Area boundaries can combine several projects. Blank comparison cells mean no matched comparison in the displayed area selection, not zero February activity.
- Registrations alone cannot establish why activity slowed or distinguish a lasting change from a quieter month.