The headline figure
Across the first half of 2026, real estate transactions in Dubai totalled roughly AED 419.9 billion over about 112,850 registered deals. That number covers every kind of registration — sales, mortgages, transfers between family members — so it is bigger than the market people mean when they say "sales".
Sales alone came to about AED 286.4 billion across roughly 86,000 deals. That is the second strongest first half Dubai has ever recorded, behind the AED 326.6 billion of the first half of 2025.
Off-plan against ready
Of those sales, off-plan accounted for about AED 139.7 billion over 58,840 deals, and completed property for about AED 146.7 billion over 27,160 deals. Two thirds of the transactions were off-plan, yet ready homes still carried slightly more money.
The arithmetic behind that is worth seeing: an average off-plan deal was near AED 2.4 million, an average ready deal near AED 5.4 million. Off-plan is where the volume is; ready is where the larger cheques are.
| Segment | Value (H1 2026) | Deals | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off-plan | AED 139.7 bn | 58,840 | ~AED 2.4 m |
| Ready | AED 146.7 bn | 27,160 | ~AED 5.4 m |
| All sales | AED 286.4 bn | ~86,000 | ~AED 3.3 m |
Villas are a small share of deals and a large share of money
Villas made up about 16% of residential transactions but around AED 91.3 billion of residential value. If you read only transaction counts you would conclude Dubai is an apartment market; if you read only value you would conclude the opposite. Both are true of different buyers.
What this changes for one buyer
- 1Set your comparison to the same segment. A price per square foot from an off-plan launch is not a quote for a completed apartment in the same district.
- 2Expect competition where the volume is. Mid-market off-plan is the busiest part of the market, so good units move on the day they are released.
- 3Ask what a building actually costs to run before comparing two prices. Service charges are the part of the yield that quietly disappears.
- 4Treat any headline growth figure as an average of very different communities. The emirate-wide number is nobody's actual outcome.
The number that is missing
None of the published totals tell you what a specific apartment is worth. They tell you how busy the market is and where the activity sits. For a single purchase, the useful comparison is still the last few transactions in that building, in that layout, in that view direction — which is a question for a specialist rather than a report.
Is a slower half-year a good time to buy?
It is a calmer one. Fewer bidding situations and more negotiable listings usually follow a very hot period, but Dubai's segments move independently — a quiet quarter in one community can coincide with a launch queue in another.
Why do off-plan and ready averages differ so much?
Off-plan skews to smaller mid-market units bought early, while completed sales include the villa and prime apartment market, where individual prices are far higher.
Where do these numbers come from?
They are the Dubai Land Department's registered transactions for January to June 2026, as reported in the emirate's half-year figures. Registrations are recorded when a deal is filed, so the data lags a decision by days, not months.
This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules change — confirm your own position with a qualified professional before deciding.
