In this report
Did sales gain ground in April?
Yes. Residential sales reached AED 27.64 billion, up 9.9% from March. The number of sales rose 3.9%, so the rise in total value was not just a busier market. The median sale price per square metre increased 4.3%, alongside a small rise in average size.
The median residential sale price was AED 1.59 million. The lower quartile sale price was AED 980,000; the upper quartile was AED 2.59 million. These mark the middle half of sales. April was stronger on both activity and the prices of the homes that sold; that does not mean every existing home appreciated.
| Period | Residential sales | Total sales value (AED) | Median sale price (AED) | Lower quartile sale price (AED) | Upper quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price per square metre (AED) | Average home size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 12,328 | 27,640,322,187 | 1,588,061 | 980,000 | 2,591,843 | 19,611 | 100 |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Where was the sales momentum?
Dubai South led the busiest communities with 1,137 sales. Dubai Islands stood out for acceleration: sales there rose 69.2%, while its median sale price per square metre rose 7.9%. This was a much larger change in activity than in the city overall.
The picture was not uniformly stronger. Business Bay recorded fewer sales and a 2.7% fall in median sale price per square metre. In Jumeirah Village Circle, the median total sale price fell 6.0%, but the median per square metre rose 3.5% and average home size was smaller. The cheaper ticket was not evidence of cheaper space.
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(10 rows)
| Community | Residential sales |
|---|---|
| Dubai South | 1,137 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 801 |
| Dubai Islands | 692 |
| Dubai Land | 672 |
| Jabal Ali First | 617 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 593 |
| Damac Lagoons | 574 |
| Dubai Investments Park | 416 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 403 |
| Business Bay | 356 |
| Community | April sales | March sales | April median sale price per square metre (AED) | March median sale price per square metre (AED) | Change in median sale price per square metre (%) | April median sale price (AED) | Change in median sale price (%) | April average home size (square metres) | March average home size (square metres) | Change in sales count (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South | 1,137 | 993 | 17,505 | 16,620 | +5.3% | 1,574,888 | +8.6% | 91 | 96 | +14.5% |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 801 | 875 | 16,866 | 16,292 | +3.5% | 1,025,000 | −6.0% | 69 | 76 | −8.5% |
| Dubai Islands | 692 | 409 | 32,331 | 29,952 | +7.9% | 3,159,914 | +16.7% | 121 | 111 | +69.2% |
| Dubai Land | 672 | 722 | 16,304 | 16,207 | +0.6% | 1,096,522 | +10.3% | 89 | 86 | −6.9% |
| Jabal Ali First | 617 | – | 18,116 | – | – | 1,872,000 | – | 82 | – | – |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 593 | – | 28,646 | – | – | 2,171,888 | – | 100 | – | – |
| Damac Lagoons | 574 | – | 20,361 | – | – | 775,000 | – | 51 | – | – |
| Dubai Investments Park | 416 | – | 13,374 | – | – | 1,284,065 | – | 116 | – | – |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 403 | 411 | 17,413 | 18,304 | −4.9% | 1,154,900 | −3.8% | 71 | 71 | −1.9% |
| Business Bay | 356 | 410 | 26,826 | 27,571 | −2.7% | 2,200,000 | −3.6% | 102 | 105 | −13.2% |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Did renting become cheaper in April?
Broadly unchanged in the residential price sample. These rent figures cover annual rents of at least AED 50,000 and rents per square metre between AED 400 and AED 4,000; they are not a count of all Dubai tenancies.
The median annual rent was AED 87,299, down 0.6% from March. Yet the median annual rent per square metre rose 1.5%. The middle half of annual rents ran from AED 66,048 to AED 130,446. Those small, opposing movements do not support a broad claim that rents were falling.
The number of rentals meeting this price-and-size screen fell 17.0%. That is a contraction in this sample, not evidence that fewer tenants rented across Dubai.
| Period | Selected rental registrations | Median annual rent (AED/year) | Lower quartile annual rent (AED/year) | Upper quartile annual rent (AED/year) | Median annual rent per square metre (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 5,567 | 87,299 | 66,048 | 130,446 | 1,089 |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Local differences mattered more than the city median. Jumeirah Village Circle’s median annual rent per square metre rose 5.4%; Dubai Marina’s fell 2.6%. In Dubai Marina, the median annual rent fell much more sharply, by 20.8%, while the average home size also fell. The smaller homes in the sample help explain the headline rent drop; it is not a comparable discount on every home.
| Community | April rental registrations | March rental registrations | April median annual rent (AED/year) | Change in median annual rent (%) | April median annual rent per square metre (AED) | March median annual rent per square metre (AED) | Change in median annual rent per square metre (%) | April average home size (square metres) | March average home size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 414 | 475 | 86,797 | +5.5% | 1,266 | 1,201 | +5.4% | 81 | 77 |
| Dubai Marina | 251 | 332 | 95,326 | −20.8% | 1,064 | 1,092 | −2.6% | 110 | 121 |
| Business Bay | 249 | 276 | 99,795 | −1.4% | 1,322 | 1,281 | +3.2% | 90 | 94 |
| International City | 204 | 207 | 80,275 | 0% | 1,368 | 1,200 | +14.0% | 72 | 73 |
| Deira | 178 | 246 | 75,258 | −3.1% | 1,100 | 1,056 | +4.2% | 100 | 97 |
| Al Nahda | 156 | 164 | 73,251 | +4.3% | 808 | 782 | +3.3% | 95 | 94 |
| Downtown Dubai | 139 | 182 | 120,412 | +9.1% | 1,089 | 1,108 | −1.7% | 122 | 120 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 131 | 195 | 80,275 | 0% | 1,287 | 1,350 | −4.7% | 75 | 78 |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | 126 | – | 100,343 | – | 1,356 | – | – | 93 | – |
| Discovery Gardens | 125 | – | 75,258 | – | 1,003 | – | – | 97 | – |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Were tenants moving or renewing in April?
Renewals narrowly led new contracts in the wider Ejari register. There were 39,400 renewals and 37,906 new contracts: renewals outnumbered new contracts by 3.9%. April was close to an even split, not a month dominated by either staying put or taking a new tenancy. This wider registration count is separate from the residential rent-price sample above.
Dubai Land Department, Ejari registered contracts, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Contract type | Registered contracts |
|---|---|
| New contracts | 37,906 |
| Renewals | 39,400 |
What do the sources show, and what can they not tell us?
This edition describes April 2026 residential sale and rental registrations, with March beside April where a comparison is shown. The separate tenancy mix comes from the wider Ejari register. All data was read on 29 October 2026. Registrations keep arriving after a month ends, so this is a retrospective reading rather than the tally available at the end of April.
- Sale totals combine registered residential sales; the evidence does not separate ready resale from off-plan sales. It cannot establish which lane drove the month.
- Changes in medians reflect the homes that traded, including differences in size, location and quality. They are not same-home price changes.
- The residential rent-price sample excludes lower annual rents and rents outside its per-square-metre screen. The Ejari count covers registered contracts only; unregistered tenancies are invisible.
- A blank community comparison means March is absent from the retained busiest-community comparison, not that the community had no March deals.
- These records do not show April asking prices, buyer financing, incentives or the reasons for transactions. They do not establish a cause for the month’s movements.