In this report
Did the sales market slow in September?
Yes. There were 9,661 residential sales, down 7.0% from August, with a total value of AED 17.09 billion, down 4.3%. These are recorded residential sales, not Dubai’s total property turnover.
The median sale price reached AED 1.246 million, up 8.3%, while the median price per square metre fell 2.6% to AED 17,813. The homes sold were larger on average. A higher purchase price therefore does not establish that comparable homes became dearer.
| Residential sales | Total sale value (AED) | Median sale price (AED) | Lower quartile sale price (AED) | Upper quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price (AED per square metre) | Average home size (square metres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,661 | 17,092,284,856 | 1,246,000 | 750,000 | 2,120,579 | 17,813 | 91 |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Did apartments and villas move together?
No. Apartment sales fell 8.3%, while villa sales rose 11.8%. Apartments still accounted for most transactions. Median sale prices per square metre fell in both groups. The divergence was in activity, not a shared upward price signal.
Villas traded at higher purchase prices. The table gives low, typical and high prices through the lower quartile, median and upper quartile. Those are the month’s traded ranges, not valuations for a particular home.
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Home type | September sales | August sales | Change in sales (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 8,885 | 9,689 | −8.3% |
| Villas | 776 | 694 | +11.8% |
| Home type | Sales | Lower quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price (AED) | Upper quartile sale price (AED) | Median sale price (AED per square metre) | Change from August in price per square metre (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 8,885 | 730,000 | 1,170,999 | 1,978,117 | 17,922 | −2.3% |
| Villas | 776 | 2,082,525 | 3,322,500 | 4,494,600 | 16,272 | −3.8% |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Did rental activity and rents both rise?
Activity rose much faster than rents. The residential transaction records contain 20,165 rental contracts, up 12.6% from August. Their median annual rent was AED 74,254, up 1.4%; median annual rent per square metre increased just 0.8%.
The middle half of annual rents stayed between AED 50,172 and AED 120,412. This was a busier month with broadly steady pricing, rather than evidence of a citywide rental surge.
| Recorded rental contracts | Median annual rent (AED) | Lower quartile annual rent (AED) | Upper quartile annual rent (AED) | Median annual rent (AED per square metre) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,165 | 74,254 | 50,172 | 120,412 | 874 |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Were renters moving or renewing?
Both. The wider Ejari registration series recorded 42,061 new contracts and 39,670 renewals in September. New tenancies only narrowly outnumbered renewals. Rental activity was not simply a wave of existing tenants extending their leases.
This is a separate, wider registration series than the residential pricing records above. Its counts describe registered tenancy activity; they should not be added to the residential contract count.
Dubai Land Department, Ejari contract registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(2 rows)
| Contract type | Registered contracts |
|---|---|
| New tenancies | 42,061 |
| Renewals | 39,670 |
Which areas explain the change in sales?
Dubai South led the recorded area totals with 816 sales, but its count fell 59.3% from August. JVC recorded 780 sales, up 11.1%. Dubai South’s decline alone exceeded the net citywide fall, so the slowdown was not spread evenly across Dubai.
Business Bay illustrates why purchase prices need care: its median sale price rose 15.7%, yet its median price per square metre fell 5.5%. Changes in the homes sold can reverse the apparent direction.
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
Show the numbers(10 rows)
| Area | September sales | August sales | Change in sales (%) | September median sale price (AED per square metre) | Change in price per square metre (%) | Change in median sale price (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai South | 816 | 2,003 | −59.3% | 17,676 | −4.9% | +17.1% |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 780 | 702 | +11.1% | 15,138 | −1.6% | −6.5% |
| Wadi Al Safa 3 | 453 | – | – | 15,000 | – | – |
| Jabal Ali Industrial Second | 412 | 582 | −29.2% | 18,296 | −1.9% | +4.5% |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 393 | – | – | 27,564 | – | – |
| Dubai Investments Park | 388 | – | – | 11,800 | – | – |
| Dubai Land | 348 | 377 | −7.7% | 15,023 | −5.1% | −4.3% |
| Motor City | 338 | – | – | 19,444 | – | – |
| Business Bay | 325 | 307 | +5.9% | 21,667 | −5.5% | +15.7% |
| Jabal Ali First | 301 | 251 | +19.9% | 29,889 | +64.8% | +16.7% |
Where was rental activity strongest?
JVC led these residential rental records with 1,488 contracts. Business Bay’s contract count rose 29.2%, but its median annual rent per square metre fell 0.7%. More activity did not automatically mean higher rents.
JVC’s median annual rent per square metre rose 4.8%, while International City was nearly unchanged. September’s rental picture was local, not a uniform repricing of Dubai.
| Area | September rental contracts | August rental contracts | Change in contracts (%) | Lower quartile annual rent (AED) | Median annual rent (AED) | Upper quartile annual rent (AED) | Median annual rent (AED per square metre) | Change in rent per square metre (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 1,488 | 1,300 | 14.5% | 55,189 | 74,254 | 100,343 | 1,080 | +4.8% |
| Business Bay | 1,040 | 805 | 29.2% | 60,206 | 80,275 | 115,395 | 1,242 | −0.7% |
| Dubai Marina | 991 | 844 | 17.4% | 65,223 | 96,831 | 139,768 | 921 | +2.8% |
| International City | 838 | 797 | 5.1% | 40,137 | 56,192 | 99,089 | 916 | +0.1% |
| Downtown Dubai | 675 | 566 | 19.3% | 55,189 | 86,295 | 143,993 | 836 | +3.3% |
| Deira | 643 | 597 | 7.7% | 35,120 | 55,189 | 79,272 | 611 | +2.9% |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 513 | 441 | 16.3% | 50,172 | 72,856 | 117,904 | 1,204 | 0% |
| Dubai Silicon Oasis | 440 | – | – | 50,172 | 65,223 | 108,496 | 826 | – |
Dubai Land Department, residential registrations, read 29 October 2026
What do these figures cover, and what can they not tell us?
This edition uses Dubai Land Department residential sale and rental transaction records, alongside its wider Ejari new-tenancy and renewal series. It covers September 2026, with August beside it where a comparison is made. The data was read on 29 October 2026. No rental price exclusions were applied.
- Registrations keep arriving after month-end. These are the counts visible on the read date, not final totals.
- The sales evidence does not separate ready resale from off-plan sales, so it cannot establish which drove the month’s changes.
- Medians describe the homes and contracts recorded, not a same-home price index. Size, location and contract mix can move them.
- Ejari activity and the residential pricing records have different coverage; neither measures all occupied homes or unregistered agreements.
- The month’s records do not show asking-price negotiations, buyer financing or the cause of changes in activity. Commercial property is outside this residential edition.
- A missing August value in an area table means that area is absent from the captured comparison group, not that it had no activity.