Dubai's most expensive apartment: from AED 410m at Bulgari Lighthouse to AED 550m at Bugatti Residences

The record price for a single apartment in Dubai has more than tripled in three years. As recently as summer 2022, the record stood at AED 163m; by late 2025, a penthouse sold for AED 550m. We trace how the ceiling moved, and unpack what these sales do — and do not — say about the market for an ordinary buyer.

The chronicle of records

When	Property	Price
August 2022	Penthouse, Atlantis The Royal Residences, Palm Jumeirah	AED 163m
February 2023	Sky-villa, Bulgari Lighthouse, Jumeirah Bay Island	AED 410m (~$112m)
November 2023	Penthouse, Como Residences, Palm Jumeirah	AED 500m
December 2025	Sky Mansion, Bugatti Residences, Business Bay	AED 550m (~$150m)

Bulgari Lighthouse: the sale that started it

On 1 February 2023, a sky-villa on the upper floors of the 27-storey Bulgari Lighthouse on Jumeirah Bay Island sold for AED 410m. The unit measures about 38,970 sq ft (roughly 3,620 sq m) over three levels, with nine bedrooms, a private infinity pool and a terrace of around 13,000 sq ft. The tower was designed by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, developed by Meraas and operated under the Bulgari hotel brand. The deal more than doubled the previous record in one move — an early sign that the top of Dubai's market had shifted into a different league. The tower itself extends the Bvlgari Resort & Residences on the same island.

Then the Palm, then Business Bay

By November 2023 the record had passed to a roughly 22,000 sq ft penthouse at Como Residences on Palm Jumeirah, at AED 500m. Individual districts set their own records too through 2024 — an AED 80m penthouse at Kempinski The Boulevard became Downtown's most expensive unit on record, for instance. Then, in December 2025, a roughly 44,214 sq ft Sky Mansion at Bugatti Residences by Binghatti sold for AED 550m — currently Dubai's, and the Middle East's, most expensive penthouse. A car lift straight into the apartment is included.

What these sales say about the market

The top tier has real depth now. Knight Frank counted 500 homes sold above $10m in Dubai in 2025, against around 30 such deals in 2020. Records are not one-off curiosities — they are the visible peak of a segment where buyers show up every week; see our full breakdown in Dubai homes over $10 million.

Brand and scarcity set the price. Every record-setting unit is a branded residence or sits on an island with a capped number of plots. Comparing their price per square foot with neighbouring buildings is not meaningful — buyers are acquiring them as collectibles, not as flats.

A record does not describe the market. AED 550m does not mean Business Bay got more expensive, and a Bulgari Lighthouse sale does not mean Jumeirah Bay Island now has affordable units. Dubai's citywide median stands at roughly AED 1,700 per sq ft and moves on its own terms — a distinction we cover in our reporting on how to read Land Department transaction data.

For the full picture of Dubai's above-$10m segment — where it's buying, how many deals, and why it hasn't cooled with the wider market — see Dubai homes over $10 million, and for the island behind the Bulgari record, our Jumeirah Bay Island explainer.