$10 million home sales hit record as broader market cools in 2026

This was also 16% higher than the number of $10 million deals recorded in the first half of 2025 and 49% higher than the first half of 2024, showing that global wealth is still flowing into Dubai’s prime housing market despite regional uncertainty.

Knight Frank said 165 homes over $10 million sold in the first quarter, followed by 131 in the second quarter. The first half also included a record 26 deals over $25 million.

Dubai Hills Estate was the best performing luxury location in H1, with 51 homes sold for more than $10 million. Palm Jumeirah followed closely behind with 50 deals, while Palm Jebel Ali recorded 40 luxury transactions ahead of scheduled completion in 2028.

The most expensive transaction in the first half was a six-bedroom apartment at Aman Residences in Jumeirah Second, developed by H&H Investment and Development, which sold for $114.9 million, or Dh422 million.

Faisal Durrani, Partner and Head of Research, MENA at Knight Frank, said Dubai’s luxury market has “constantly broken records over the past five years”, adding that most of the last deals recorded were closed before the recent regional conflict but were recorded later due to the usual four to six week delay.

Market activity has not stopped, he said, because Dubai’s key strengths remain in place, including infrastructure, global connectivity, a pro-business environment, lifestyle, education and healthcare.

The broader housing market remains busy, but the pace has cooled from last year. Cavendish Maxwell said residential sales reached Dh221.3 billion in almost 79,200 transactions in the first half of 2026.

This puts overall first half home sales 14% below the same period last year, while total sales values ​​fell 15.7%.

June, however, showed a rebound after a quieter May. Cavendish Maxwell said nearly 12,315 residential transactions worth Dh25.17 billion were recorded in June, compared with 9,500 purchases worth Dh22 billion in May.

Ronan Arthur, Director and Head of Residential Valuation at Cavendish Maxwell, explained that the recovery followed a quieter May partly affected by the Eid holiday, with transactions up almost 30% month-on-month. Some of this increase reflected deals postponed from May, but the rebound showed that investor confidence remained resilient despite regional uncertainty.

Off-plan sales continued to dominate June activity, with 9,442 transactions accounting for 76% of the market. The value of off-plan sales increased to Dh17.6 billion, from Dh15.2 billion in May.

A separate market analysis by fäm Properties, based on open data from DXBinteract, showed an even stronger June performance across the wider market, with 13,933 sales transactions worth Dh33.2 billion.

This represented a 35.5% month-on-month increase in transaction volume and a 14.9% increase in value. The second quarter ended with 38,157 transactions worth Dh110.2 billion, while the first half recorded 86,077 sales transactions worth Dh286.2 billion.

Primary sales remained ahead of resale activity in June, with 10,398 transactions worth Dh21.6 billion, compared to 3,535 resale transactions worth Dh11.6 billion.

Villa sales rose 46.5% month-on-month to 1,474 transactions worth Dh7.5 billion, while apartment sales rose 32.3% to 11,605 deals worth Dh17.8 billion. Commercial property sales also increased, with offices and shops recording 478 deals worth Dh2.3 billion.

Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties, said that buyers and tenants were showing increasing confidence in the rental, sales and individual property sectors.

Dubai South was the best performing area for the fourth consecutive month, recording 2,869 transactions worth Dh3.3 billion in June, according to fäm Properties.

The area saw a 111% increase in transaction volume and a 106% increase in value month-on-month. It has now ranked among Dubai’s top five performing sites for eight months in a row, with growth led largely by developers’ off-plan sales.

Jebel Ali First, Al Barsha South Fourth, Wadi Al Safa 5 and Al Thanya Fifth were also among the best performing areas in June.

Dubai’s rental market also hit a new high in June. fäm Properties said 40,022 leases were registered during the month, the highest monthly total on record.

New leases rose 48.6% year-on-year to 19,245, while renewals rose 28.5% to 20,777. The data points to demand from new tenants entering the market as well as existing residents choosing to stay.

According to rental technology platform Rently, Dubai recorded Dh32.2 billion in rental contract value for 253,992 new and renewed tenancies in the first quarter of 2026. Rental contract cancellations fell by 25%, which the company said reflected growing stability in the market.

Rently’s own customer data showed that more than 56% of users rent homes priced between Dh50,000 and Dh100,000 per year. The average annual rental value on the rig is Dh72,000, while the median is Dh92,000, firmly placing rental payments in the mid-market segment.

Knight Frank noted that the current cycle is also different from previous downturns because the market now has a larger share of end users. Durrani said 25% of homes were resold within 12 months of purchase in 2008, compared with 4% the previous year, indicating lower speculative activity.

This has helped finished neighborhoods, especially villa-led communities, show more price stability during the recent period of regional uncertainty.

Knight Frank said prices across Dubai’s prime market have softened by between 5% and 20%, depending on location, as some landlords and investors exit the market, including motivated sellers who can still book profits after strong price growth over the past five-and-a-half years.

Nicholas Spencer, Partner and Head of Residential, MENA at Knight Frank, said the full effect of the regional conflict may only become clearer in the autumn, assuming conditions remain stable.

With the quiet summer months continuing, transaction volumes may slow further. However, first half data shows that Dubai’s property market is still being supported by off-plan demand and record rental activity.