In this report
Did residential sales slow in May?
Yes. 9,144 residential sales were registered, down 25.8% from April. Their total value was AED 16.37 billion, down 40.8%. Value fell faster than deal count: May involved less expensive homes as well as fewer sales.
Across all registered residential sales, median price per square metre fell 10.1%. Average home size also fell, reaching 86 square metres. These are changes in the homes sold, not a repeat-sale measure of the same properties.
| Period | Residential 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) | Average home size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 9,144 | 16,366,043,780 | 1,135,000 | 684,277 | 1,987,006 | 17,636 | 86 |
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
The slowdown reached both apartments and villas. Villa sales fell 44.2%, against 24.1% for apartments. The sharper villa slowdown also pulled down the share of larger-ticket homes in the month.
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Home type | May sales | April sales | Change in sales (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 8,552 | 11,268 | −24.1% |
| Villas | 592 | 1,060 | −44.1% |
Where did sales concentrate, and did prices move together?
Dubai South led the area ranking with 1,330 sales. Its median total sale price fell 49.8%, yet its median price per square metre rose 3.7%. Average size fell from 91 to 61 square metres. That contrast is the clearest warning against reading a lower sale ticket as an equivalent loss in property value.
The pattern was not universal. JVC’s median sale price per square metre fell 7.4%; Dubai Islands’ rose 1.3%, even as its sale count almost halved. Activity and price moved separately.
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(10 rows)
| Area | May residential sales |
|---|---|
| Dubai South | 1,330 |
| Wadi Al Safa 3 | 783 |
| Dubailand | 593 |
| JVC | 522 |
| Dubai Investments Park | 481 |
| Dubai Islands | 347 |
| Jabal Ali First | 280 |
| Al Warsan | 266 |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 253 |
| Business Bay | 235 |
| Area | May sales | April sales | May median sale price (AED) | Change in median sale price (%) | May median sale price per square metre (AED) | Change per square metre (%) | May average size (square metres) | April average size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South | 1,330 | 1,137 | 790,000 | −49.8% | 18,152 | +3.7% | 61 | 91 |
| Wadi Al Safa 3 | 783 | – | 585,000 | – | 14,925 | – | 69 | – |
| Dubailand | 593 | 672 | 895,022 | −18.4% | 16,087 | −1.3% | 80 | 89 |
| JVC | 522 | 801 | 1,000,000 | −2.4% | 15,618 | −7.4% | 72 | 69 |
| Dubai Investments Park | 481 | 416 | 871,747 | −32.1% | 13,011 | −2.7% | 92 | 116 |
| Dubai Islands | 347 | 692 | 3,244,828 | +2.7% | 32,763 | +1.3% | 118 | 121 |
| Jabal Ali First | 280 | 617 | 1,738,500 | −7.1% | 17,328 | −4.3% | 89 | 82 |
| Al Warsan | 266 | – | 565,000 | – | 10,950 | – | 61 | – |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 253 | 403 | 1,052,888 | −8.8% | 18,146 | +4.2% | 66 | 71 |
| Business Bay | 235 | 356 | 1,735,000 | −21.1% | 22,974 | −14.4% | 89 | 102 |
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
Did residential rents rise in May?
Not materially across the rental pricing sample. Median annual rent was AED 87,800, up only 0.6% from April. Median annual rent per square metre fell 2.3%. The middle half of annual rents ran from AED 65,223 to AED 130,446.
This pricing sample contains 7,173 residential rent registrations, 28.8% more than April. It keeps annual rents of at least AED 50,000 and rents per square metre between AED 400 and AED 4,000. It answers what this part of the rental market paid, not how many tenants signed contracts across Dubai.
| Period | Rent registrations in pricing sample | 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) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 7,173 | 87,800 | 65,223 | 130,446 | 1,064 | 107 |
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
Which rental areas strengthened or softened?
The rental market split by area. Median annual rent per square metre fell 8.2% in JVC and 7.6% in Business Bay, but rose 11.3% in Deira and 3.5% in Downtown Dubai. These are substantial samples, not a handful of leases.
Dubai Marina illustrates the mix problem again: median annual rent rose 10.5%, while median rent per square metre fell 2.0%. Larger homes were rented on average. A citywide headline is a poor substitute for the local evidence.
| Area | May rent registrations | April rent registrations | May lower quartile annual rent (AED) | May median annual rent (AED) | May upper quartile annual rent (AED) | Change in median annual rent (%) | May median annual rent per square metre (AED) | Change per square metre (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JVC | 550 | 414 | 65,223 | 80,275 | 106,131 | −7.5% | 1,162 | −8.2% |
| Dubai Marina | 351 | 251 | 72,749 | 105,361 | 150,515 | +10.5% | 1,043 | −2.0% |
| Business Bay | 340 | 249 | 70,240 | 90,372 | 133,582 | −9.4% | 1,222 | −7.6% |
| International City | 264 | 204 | 60,206 | 85,292 | 120,412 | +6.3% | 1,254 | −8.3% |
| Downtown Dubai | 227 | 139 | 75,529 | 118,323 | 170,584 | −1.7% | 1,127 | +3.5% |
| Deira | 196 | 178 | 65,223 | 84,790 | 114,012 | +12.7% | 1,224 | +11.3% |
| Dubai Silicon Oasis | 176 | – | 60,206 | 84,288 | 130,446 | – | 1,141 | – |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 171 | 131 | 65,725 | 84,288 | 110,390 | +5.0% | 1,398 | +8.6% |
Dubai Land Department, residential transaction registrations, read 29 October 2026
Were registered renters moving or renewing?
Renewals outnumbered new contracts. The broader Ejari register recorded 59,065 contracts in May: 32,179 renewals and 26,886 new contracts. New contracts accounted for 45.5% of the total.
This wider registered-contract count is separate from the filtered residential pricing sample above. Renewal-heavy activity means more registered contracts continued an existing tenancy than began a new one. It does not measure vacancy or all household moves.
Dubai Land Department, Ejari registered rental contracts, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Contract type | May registered rent contracts |
|---|---|
| New contracts | 26,886 |
| Renewals | 32,179 |
What do the sources show, and what can they not tell us?
This edition covers May 2026, read on 29 October 2026. Sale and residential rent figures come from Dubai Land Department registrations; the new-versus-renewal counts come from the wider Ejari register. April is the preceding-month comparison. The later read date allows registrations arriving after month-end to appear in this edition.
The month’s conclusion is a sales slowdown and a divided rental market, not evidence of a uniform correction.
- Sale figures combine registered residential sales without a ready-resale versus off-plan split; they cannot establish which lane drove the slowdown.
- The residential pricing records and wider Ejari counts cover different sets of contracts; neither should be presented as the other’s total.
- Changes in size, buildings and contract mix can move medians without the same home changing value. Prices per square metre reduce the size effect but do not remove quality differences.
- The area tables rank May activity. A missing April comparison is unavailable in that comparison set, not proof of no April activity.
- Registrations do not reveal May’s unsold stock, asking prices, negotiation discounts or the reason buyers and tenants acted.