Dubai property weekly, 19 to 25 October 2026: sales slip 8%, prices hold, offices take the top deals
Key takeaways
- Dubai recorded 2,453 property sales from 19 to 25 October 2026. That is 8% fewer than the week before.
- Prices held. The median was AED 1,660 per sq ft, almost the same as the week before.
- 62% of buyers bought directly from developers.
- Offices beat villas at the top of the market.
- Knight Frank says sales of $10m-plus homes fell 34% in Q3 2026.
Dubai recorded 2,453 property sales from 19 to 25 October 2026. That is 8% fewer than the 2,667 sales of the week before. It is also 43% fewer than the same week of 2025, when Dubai recorded 4,268 sales.
Prices did not follow sales down. The median sale went through at AED 1,660 per sq ft. The week before it was AED 1,670, and a year earlier it was AED 1,700.
This has been the pattern all autumn. Fewer people are buying, but buyers are paying almost the same price per foot.
The week in transactions
| 19 to 25 Oct 2026 | 12 to 18 Oct 2026 | 20 to 26 Oct 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 2,453 | 2,667 | 4,268 |
| Median price per sq ft | AED 1,660 | AED 1,670 | AED 1,700 |
| Median sale price | AED 1.38M | AED 1.40M | AED 1.50M |
Most buyers still bought from the developer. Developers sold 1,526 properties in Dubai from 19 to 25 October 2026, 62% of all sales. The median developer sale was AED 1,710 per sq ft, or AED 1.25M. Developer sales were 10% lower than the week before.
Dubai's secondary market recorded 927 resales in the same week, 5% fewer than the week before. The median resale was AED 1,540 per sq ft.
The typical resale still cost more in total, at AED 1.67M. That is because resales tend to be larger, finished homes. Developer sales lean towards studios and 1-beds.
Top-selling projects
These were Dubai's busiest projects in the seven days to 26 October 2026, ranked by DLD-registered sales.
| Project | Sales | vs prior week | Median price | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arancia Yards 2 by Beyond, Building D | 49 | +104% | AED 1.21M | AED 1,535 |
| Raw District 2 by Imtiaz (residential) | 44 | +69% | AED 745K | AED 1,778 |
| Weston | 38 | +36% | AED 714K | AED 1,492 |
| Azizi Venice 11 | 32 | +28% | AED 640K | AED 1,615 |
| SLS Dubai | 24 | new to the list | AED 2.00M | AED 1,709 |
| Damac Lagoons, Lagoon Views 13 A | 19 | -50% | AED 691K | AED 1,820 |
| Serenz by Danube, Tower A | 18 | +39% | AED 985K | AED 2,394 |
| Verdana 4 | 17 | +240% | AED 1.24M | AED 1,213 |
| Chelsea Residences, Tower C | 16 | +33% | AED 2.53M | AED 3,226 |
| The Woods Abode | 16 | +129% | AED 1.05M | AED 1,929 |
Two things stand out.
First, the mid-market is doing the work. Eight of the ten busiest projects had a median price under AED 1.3M.
Second, some pricier homes picked up. The Greens at Sobha Sanctuary jumped from 2 sales to 14, at a median of AED 4.07M. Chelsea Residences Tower C sold 16 units at a median AED 3,226 per sq ft.
Weekly project counts can jump when a developer registers a batch of contracts at once. Treat one week as a signal, not a trend.
The biggest deals
Offices, not villas, led the top of the market. Dubai had 24 sales above AED 20M from 19 to 25 October 2026. Seven of them were offices, worth AED 261.8M. The nine villas above AED 20M were worth AED 251.5M.
- Bureau Lamar, Business Bay: the developer, Lamar, sold three 9,513 sq ft offices off-plan on 23 October. Each went for AED 43.8M, or AED 131.3M in total. That is AED 4,600 per sq ft.
- Lumena Alta, Business Bay: Omniyat sold five off-plan offices on 21 October for AED 115.5M. Prices ran from AED 4,970 to AED 6,103 per sq ft.
- Silver Tower, JLT: a ready office, already rented out, resold for AED 43M on 19 October.
- Balqis Residence, Palm Jumeirah: the biggest single deal was still a home. A 5-bed beach residence resold for AED 55M on 23 October.
Together, the 24 sales above AED 20M were worth AED 815.2M. See the full breakdown.
News that matters this week
Knight Frank: $10m-plus home sales cooled in Q3
Property consultancy Knight Frank says Dubai had 86 home sales of $10 million or more in Q3 2026. $10 million is about AED 36.7M.
That is 34% fewer than the 131 sales in Q2 2026, and 17% fewer than Q3 2025. The 86 deals were worth about AED 5.77bn. Villas made up 55 of them.
Over the first nine months of 2026, Dubai had 412 sales above $10 million. Together they were worth about $6.67bn. In the same period of 2025 there were 357.
Knight Frank also says prices in Dubai's ten prime neighbourhoods fell 5% from Q2 to Q3 2026. It is their first quarterly fall since 2020. Palm Jumeirah led with 27 of the 86 deals. Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank's head of research for the region, named the regional conflict as the main drag on activity.
How it fits our numbers: DLD records show the same thing across the whole market. Sales are falling much faster than prices. Prime is the first segment where prices have started to give way.
Status: research report, published 21 to 22 October 2026. Reported by The National (21/10/26) and Gulf Business (22/10/26), both citing Knight Frank. Figures are Knight Frank's, not DLD's.
Explainer: Dubai's shared housing law, now in force
Dubai's shared housing rules are back in the news as landlords work out what they mean for rents. Here are the basics.
- What it is: Law No. 4 of 2026. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued it in March 2026. It covers shared housing across Dubai, including private development zones and free zones. Labour accommodation is not included.
- When: in force since 26 August 2026. Existing landlords and operators have one year from that date to comply.
- Permits: you need a permit to let a unit as shared housing. A permit lasts one year, or two if the owner asks. Renew at least 30 days before it expires.
- Who runs it: Dubai Municipality sets the occupancy limits, the space per person and where sharing is allowed. Dubai Land Department keeps the shared housing register and sets rent guides. Disputes go to the Rental Disputes Center.
- Fines: from AED 500 to AED 500,000. A repeat offence within a year doubles the fine, up to AED 1M. Permits can also be cancelled, utilities cut off or tenants evicted.
Why it matters for the numbers: legal shared units need registered contracts. So over the next year, more of Dubai's rental market will show up in DLD lease records. That will affect the median rents we report, especially for studios and 1-beds.
Status: in force. Sources: Dubai Media Office (announcement, March 2026), The National (26/08/26), Khaleej Times (19/10/26).
The bigger picture
- Dubai's monthly sales fell from 17,279 in January 2026 to 11,288 in September 2026. Over the same time, the median price per sq ft fell only about 2% year on year. Read the September report.
- Dubai handed over 38,463 new homes from 1 January to 22 October 2026. That is the most for that part of the year since 2012. Another 25,188 are due by 31 December. Read the handover report.
- 1-bed rents fell about 6% in Dubai Marina, Business Bay and Dubai Hills Estate. This compares leases starting July to September 2026 with the same months of 2025. Read the rent check.
What to watch next week
- Do weekly sales hold between 2,400 and 2,700, or slip further as October ends?
- New launches. Mid-market off-plan is carrying the volume, so launches will decide which way sales go.
- More Q3 reports from the big consultancies. We check them against DLD records before we quote them.
Data: DLD-registered sales via DXBinteract, 20/10/25 to 26/10/26. Weekly figures run Monday to Sunday. Figures are medians across all property types (apartments, villas, townhouses, land and commercial) unless stated. "Bought from the developer" means primary sales. "Resales" means secondary-market sales. Not financial advice.
