Dubai Property Market Sees Highest-Ever January Sales on Record

Dubai has stepped into 2026 with a golden period of growth as its real estate sector recorded the strongest January performance in history. The unprecedented property boom has shattered all previous records of sales volume and values, reflecting a sustained confidence among global investors.

With both sales and mortgage activities surging phenomenally year-on-year, Dubai enjoys its position as the “red-hot” global property hub. Outperforming all other dynamic real estate markets worldwide, this historic performance of Dubai follows the footprints of staggering 2025 records.

Dubai’s vibrant real estate market is now establishing new global standards for resilience, liquidity, and scale, thanks to the leading off-plan sales, soaring luxury home acquisitions, and relentless inflow of international buyers in the city.

Record-Setting January 2026

Posting highest-ever monthly transaction value in January 2026, Dubai has once again re-affirmed the extraordinary expansion of numbers across land, commercial, and residential segments.

1. Performance by the Numbers

• Total Sales Volume: 16,858 deals exchanged hands within the first month of 2026.
• Total Transaction Value: Approximately AED 70.05 billion generated, marking a 59.13% surge than previous January.
• YoY Growth in Volume & Values: With yearly increase of 17.27% number of transactions to 21.884, an 86.5% YoY increase has been recorded in the scale.

January 2025 Vs. January 2026

This upward trajectory underscores not only increased investor activity, but also higher ticket-size acquisitions. The recorded values are nearly double the figures recorded a year earlier, showing the scale of capital inflows stepping in Dubai’s real estate landscape, specifically within master-planned and prime neighborhoods.

What these Unprecedented Numbers Indicate?

• Robust end-user conversions
• Accelerated momentum of off-plan launches
• Growing demand for branded residences
• High resale liquidity

2. Mortgage & Gift Transactions in Dubai’s January 2026

In addition to a staggering number of direct sales, property transfers and financing transactions also celebrated a record-breaking momentum in the first month of 2026.

i. Mortgage Activity by the Numbers

• Mortgage Properties’ Volume: 4,160
• Mortgage Properties’ Value: AED 32.04 billion
• Property Gifts Volume: 826 transactions
• Property Gifts Value: AED 5.87 billion

ii. What These Numbers Tell?

• High mortgage deals in January 2026 underscores confidence of buyers and lenders in Dubai’s valuable real estate ecosystem. This confidence is reinforced by long-term residency benefits and competitive interest rates.
• Property gifts are typically associated with family asset restricting and wealth transfers. Its growing figure in Dubai reflects long-term settlement trends among HNWIs and expats.

3. Leading Areas by Transaction Values

Both luxury nodes and emerging corridors have contributed to the scaling Dubai real estate performance in January 2026, including:

• Al Rowaiyah – AED 6.31 billion
• Meydan 2 (Me’aisem 2) – AED 6.04 billion
• Al Yalayis 1 – AED 4.6 billion
• Business Bay – AED 3.51 billion
• Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Gardens – AED 3.26 billion

Besides these, other high performing areas include Dubai Investment Park Second, Palm Jebel Ali, Umm Suqeim, and Palm Deira. Each of these corridors reported record-setting sales surpassing AED 1.7 billion.

i. What it Indicates?

These locations signal the dual-engine growth model holding Dubai’s staggering real estate market:

• Expansions of master-planned, suburb communities
• Rise in luxury waterfront and branded hubs

Factors Behind Dubai Property Market’s Record Speed

1. Global Wealth Migration

Dubai’s real estate appeal is enhanced as a wealth preservation hub, driven by strategic residency reforms, tax efficiency, and currency stability. Due to these reasons, it continues attracting:

• Asian family offices
• European capital
• American high-net-worth individuals

2. Long-Term Residency Enticements

Visa reforms are often used by strategic markets to reshape buyer behavior. The unwavering perks of these policies in Dubai have contributed in converting tenants into homeowners.

• Remote work visas
• Golden Visa tied to real estate investment
• Retirement residency pathways

3. Urban Planning and Infrastructure

Dubai is continuously investing to redefine urban living and the conventional purpose of the metropolitan ecosystem. The advanced infrastructure and thoughtful urban planning ultimately enhance rental yields as well as standard of living. Mega-projects sustaining real estate demand include:

• Revival of Palm Jebel Ali
• Blue Line metro route expansions
• Emergence of Etihad Rail
• DIFC expansion zones
• Dubai South’s rapid development

Strongest 2025 Annual Performance: A Catalyst for 2026 Momentum

Dubai closed 2025 with outpacing figures ever recorded in the emirate’s real estate history.

i. Key Figures Include:

• 215,700 property sales (18.7% upward growth)
• Dh 686.8 billion sales value (30.9% surge)

Additionally, December 2025 also marked a historic month in Dubai’s real estate history with:

• 18,587 transactions
• Dh 63.1 billion sales value

Primary Vs. Secondary Market Dynamics in 2025

The unparalleled balance between resale activity and developer launches exhibited Dubai’s enhanced appeal for immediate occupancy demand, high rental yields, and long-term horizon investment potential.

i. Drivers behind Off-Plan Growth:

• Reasonable entry prices
• Staggered payment options
• Post-handover relaxation (in few)

Price Appreciation across Property Segments

• Ready Properties: Dh 1,500/ sq. ft., featured an 11.2 per cent growth.
• Off-Plan Properties: Dh 1,700/ sq. ft., marked a 6.7 per cent rise.

The faster growth in secondary market’s property prices signals:

• Demand for immediate possession
• Tenant-to-buyer conversions
• Limited ready inventory

Supply Expansion to Align with Demand

The healthy launch and delivery metrics in 2025 show how Dubai’s developer accelerated off-plan releases and construction to avoid supply shortages. The disciplined supply expansion prevents overheating and simultaneously sustains investor appetite.

• Around 42,784 units were delivered in 2025, projecting a remarkable 45% growth from the previous year.
• The release of 177,624 new units recorded a 6.1% rise from 2024 and a fine pipeline for 2026.

Top Performing Areas in 2025

2026 investors looking to enter Dubai real estate market can look into transaction hotspots of 2025 as previous records set a tangible evidence for new buyers.

Leading Districts

• Jumeirah Village Circle – Topping the performance with over 18,755 deals of around AED 24.5 billion.
• Business Bay – Sat at second with a tremendous record of 13,844 transactions, accounting to AED 39.9 billion.
• Wadi Al Safa – Followed the lead with 11,631 deals.
• Dubai South – A rapidly emerging corridor reported a total 10,025 transactions.
• Jebel Ali First – Experienced 8,263 sales in real estate.

While some areas are driven by mid-market demand and others driven by high-end residential inventory, these areas together remain boastful for abundant off-plan supply pipelines, infrastructure growth, and rental yield strength.

Dubai Property Market Growth in 5-Year Horizon

Dubai’s dynamic real estate market is shaped by structural demand and not through speculative cycles. Since 2020, it marked a historic expansion in sales as:

• 34,700 sales recorded in the year 2020 worth AED 71.5 billion.
• Around 215,700 sales reported in 2025, totaling to AED 686.8 billion.

This signals that both transaction values and volumes surged nearly ten times, with a strong momentum promised even in 2026.

Top Nationalities Shaping Investor Profile

The scalable investor mix in Dubai represents global diversification with many flocking towards its lifestyle integration, political stability, tax exemptions, and robust currency. Leading investor nationalities in Dubai include:

• China
• Western Europe
• Russia
• North America
• Pakistan
• India

Will Growth Continue? Future Outlook

Real estate industry leaders, including Al Dawla (On Plan Real Estate’s Chairman), predict an unstoppable growth in Dubai’s property sector. Property prices will equally appreciate in the future due to:

• Launch of mega-projects in the city
• Relentless inflow of expatriates
• Corporate growth
• Limited availability of prime land

Al Dawla also noticed the slight difference between 2025 real estate transactions and targeted values for 2033. Analysts also suggested that the market could soon exceed AED 1 trillion in yearly trading value as 2025 values floated near AED 917 billion.

What This Means for Investors

i. Risks to Consider

• Tightening of global liquidity
• Fluctuations in interest rates
• Inflation in construction costs

ii. Opportunities to Unfold

• Exclusive rental yields in mid-market zones
• Early entry into premier projects
• Capital growth in suburban nodes

Closing In!

The historic performance of Dubai in January 2026 reflects not just an unparalleled start, but the city’s entrance into a new growth era. It also confirms that the emirates have transformed into a mature and globally dominant property powerhouse.

From surging sales to record transaction values, deep structural strength has become the core of Dubai’s real estate expansion. Furthermore, it is backed by infrastructure mega-projects, visionary urban planning, and residency initiatives. These aspects continue to remodel benchmarks for property investment on a global level.