Dubai Logged 148,564 Property Deals Worth AED 523.44 Billion in Eight Months

Dubai logged 148,564 property transactions worth AED 523.44 billion in the first eight months of 2026, already 57% of the full-2025 total by value.

Dubai registered 148,564 real estate transactions worth AED 523.44 billion between January and August, equal to 56.96% of the AED 919 billion recorded across the whole of 2025. Sales accounted for AED 349.83 billion across 112,020 transactions, of which 94,480 were residential units, 8,794 land parcels and 8,742 buildings.

Off-plan wins on count, ready property wins on value

The split between finished and unfinished stock is close to even in money and nowhere near even in volume. Ready property produced AED 180.05 billion from 35,370 transactions; off-plan produced AED 169.77 billion from 76,650. That works out at roughly AED 5.09 million per ready-property deal against AED 2.21 million per off-plan deal — more than twice the average ticket. Off-plan is where the transaction count is being generated; ready stock is where the capital is.

Mortgages and gifts

Mortgage registrations came to AED 134.34 billion over 30,645 transactions, a figure equal to 38% of the sales value, though the two registers are not a subset of one another and the comparison is indicative only. Donations and gifts — a category that includes intra-family transfers and corporate restructurings — added AED 39.27 billion across 5,899 transactions.

August was an ordinary month, not a record one

August produced AED 46.22 billion of total activity across 15,960 transactions, with sales of AED 27.89 billion from 11,600 deals. Arabian Business reported the same month at $12.6 billion, consistent with the dirham figure. That is close to the eight-month average of roughly AED 65 billion a month — in fact below it — and it is the arithmetic that deserves attention. To match 2025's AED 919 billion, Dubai would need AED 98.9 billion a month across September to December, more than double August's pace. Extending the current run rate instead gives about AED 785 billion for the full year, roughly 15% below 2025.

Volume at record levels, prices at a standstill

Glopra's data makes the tension explicit. Dubai's average price is $7,244 per square metre, and prices have moved 0.1% over the past twelve months — effectively flat, after several years in which the headline was always growth. Gross rental yield stands at 5.53%, and our bubble-risk score for Dubai is 81 out of 100, in the high band. Abu Dhabi, on the same scale, scores 78 — but with prices up 20.24% rather than flat, which is a materially different position to be in at a similar score.

A market can run enormous transaction volume while prices go sideways, and the off-plan share of the deal count is part of the reason: a large proportion of these 148,564 transactions are commitments to buy stock that does not exist yet, and they do not compete with today's inventory until they complete. The eight-month total is a genuine record in absolute terms. It is not, on this month's run rate, on course to beat last year.

Sources: Voice of Emirates (Dubai Land Department data, January-August 2026), 1 Sep 2026 https://www.voiceofemirates.com/en/business/business-reports/2026/09/01/sales-recorded-349-83-billion-dirhams-aed-523-44-billion-in-dubai-real-estate-transactions-in-8-months/; Arabian Business (Dubai August 2026 market report) https://www.arabianbusiness.com/real-estate/dubai-property-market-august-2026

Market data: Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah · United Arab Emirates · Dubai