Dubai property market H1 2025 review: a record quarter and AED 431bn of transactions
Dubai in the first half of 2025: 125,538 transactions worth about AED 431bn (+26% and +25%), per the DLD. Knight Frank counted a record 51,000+ home sales in Q2 and 94,000 worth AED 268bn over the half. Prices +13.7% a year, villas +16% and 49% above the 2014 peak.
The first half of 2025 was one of the last stretches of the cycle that began in late 2020 in which volumes and prices rose together. A year on, with the market correcting, these are the numbers sellers anchor to and the numbers any "decline" is measured from. The Dubai Land Department (DLD) recorded 125,538 real estate transactions worth about AED 431bn between January and June 2025, up 26% by number and 25% by value on the first half of 2024.
The headline figures
| Measure | H1 2024 | H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate transactions (DLD) | 99,947 | 125,538 (+26%) |
| Transaction value (DLD) | — | ≈AED 431bn (+25%) |
| Investment value (DLD) | AED 234bn | AED 326bn (+39%) |
| Investors | — | 94,717 (+26%) |
| First-time investors | — | 59,075 (+22%) |
| Home sales (Knight Frank) | — | 94,000+ worth AED 268bn (+41%) |
What exactly was the record
Knight Frank counted more than 51,000 home sales in the second quarter of 2025, the highest quarterly total on record. It is worth being precise, because the figures have been blended in circulation: "$72.8bn" is often presented as that quarter's value. It is in fact the dollar conversion of the whole half-year's AED 268bn. The quarter was a record by number of sales, not a $72.8bn quarter.
About 70% of second-quarter sales were off-plan. At the top end the quarter produced 143 sales above $10m — 80 apartments and 63 villas — worth AED 9.5bn.
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Prices near the top of the cycle
| Measure (Knight Frank, Q2 2025) | Value |
|---|---|
| Citywide average | AED 1,809 per sq ft |
| Change over 12 months | +13.7% |
| Change over the quarter | +3.4% |
| Versus the 2014 peak | 21.6% higher |
| Villas | AED 2,172 per sq ft, +16% a year, 49.3% above 2014 |
| Prime (ten communities) | AED 3,850 per sq ft, +16% a year |
A "villas +92% since May 2022" figure also circulates; we could not find it in Knight Frank's or ValuStrat's reports for the period and have left it out. What the reports do show is almost five years of uninterrupted growth from November 2020, with villas nearly twice as far above their 2014 peak as the market as a whole.
Early signs of the turn
Knight Frank's forecast for the whole of 2025 was about 8% for the mainstream market and 5% for prime — well below the pace of 2023 and 2024. And the volume of homes launched off-plan meant record completions in 2026–2028. The market kept setting volume records into the second half, which is not the same thing as prices accelerating.
Where things stand in September 2026
Dubai finished 2025 at AED 917bn (our 2025 review) and set a monthly record in January 2026. Then activity cooled, and sale prices fell about 2.6% over the first half of 2026 (the H1 2026 correction). That makes the first half of 2025 a useful yardstick: a seller asking a Q2 2025 price today is asking something close to the top of the cycle, not today's market.
To see where a particular property sits against those highs, compare it with our review of the Dubai market in summer 2026, which covers prices, transactions and rents.
Video on this topic
The same subject on the English channel — each clip has a written version of its own.
1:38Binghatti Hills at Arjan: the volume play, examined10 September 2025
1:31Binghatti Haven in Dubai Sports City: cheap for a reason, or cheap for a good reason?9 September 2025
28:23Peninsula Four The Plaza by Select Group: what you are actually buying2 March 2025
8:01Island Park at Dubai Creek Harbour: an Emaar tower that is almost finished9 August 2024
In the news
Other write-ups on the site about the same thing.
Dubai property market 2023 review: AED 634bn of transactions and villas past the 2014 peak
Dubai in 2023, from official data: 166,400 real estate transactions worth AED 634bn (+36% by number, +20% by value) and 71,000 first-time investors. Knight Frank had villas 9% above the 2014 peak while apartments were still 10% below it. A reference review, with the status as of September 2026.
Abu Dhabi property market 2026: AED 117bn in six months and a run of ADREC records
ADREC data: AED 117bn of transactions in H1 2026 (+112%), AED 86.1bn of sales and AED 13.8bn of foreign direct investment (+309%, more than all of 2025). Full-year 2025 was a record AED 142bn. What sits behind the numbers.
Dubai property market 2024 review: AED 761bn of transactions and villa prices up 31.6%
Dubai in 2024: 226,000 transactions worth AED 761bn (+36% and +20%) and 110,000 first-time investors, per the DLD. ValuStrat had prices up 27.5% — villas +31.6%, apartments +23.6%, Jumeirah Islands and Palm Jumeirah villas above 42%. Figures, leading districts and the September 2026 status.
Off-plan and ready: two Dubai markets counted as one
In July 2026 nearly three quarters of Dubai residential transactions were off-plan. The two halves moved in opposite directions that month — and any headline that adds them together is describing developer launches, not the housing market.
Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah property market 2023–2025: transactions, prices and what changed
Sharjah: about AED 27bn of transactions in 2023, AED 40bn in 2024 and a record AED 65.6bn in 2025. Ras Al Khaimah: AED 6.9bn in 2023 and over AED 15bn in 2024, then 2025 sales down 25% while apartment prices rose 13.4%. Year-by-year tables and the September 2026 status.
Abu Dhabi property market 2023–2024 review: AED 87bn, then AED 96bn, with Saadiyat in front
Abu Dhabi in 2023 and 2024, from ADREC: 22,751 transactions worth AED 87.1bn with sales value up 2.6 times, then 28,249 worth AED 96.2bn and foreign direct investment up 125% to AED 7.86bn. ValuStrat had Saadiyat villas up 19.9% in a year. Figures and the September 2026 status.