Dubai property transactions in July and August 2026: DLD monthly data, and why the year-on-year fall overstates it
July 2026: 13,930 sales worth AED 34.9bn, down about 31% in number on a record July 2025. August: around 11,600 sales worth AED 27.9bn, down 37% in number and 44% in value. Where the slowdown is real, and where it is a base effect.
Headlines about Dubai in September 2026 read like a correction: transactions down a third, values down by almost half. Those numbers are correct, but they compare this summer with the strongest summer the market has ever had. Taken month by month, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) data tells a more useful story for anyone deciding whether to buy now. We covered the season as a whole in our summer 2026 market review; this piece is the monthly breakdown.
July 2026
DLD registered 13,930 sales worth AED 34.88bn (about $9.5bn) in July. Against June that is a small gain: value up 6.9%, count up 1.2%. Against July 2025 — 20,304 sales worth AED 65bn, the second-best month on record — it is a fall of roughly 31% in number and 46% in value.
| July 2026 | Sales | Value | Share of value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready | 4,308 | AED 18.92bn | 54% |
| Off-plan | 9,622 | AED 15.96bn | 46% |
The average ready transaction was about AED 4.4m, the average off-plan one about AED 1.7m. These are not two prices for the same product. The ready market is increasingly villas and larger apartments, while off-plan volume is driven by studios and one-bedrooms bought on a deposit. We explain why they should be read separately in off-plan and ready: two markets counted as one.
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August 2026
August brought around 11,600 sales worth AED 27.89bn (about $7.6bn), plus 3,390 mortgage registrations worth AED 14.36bn. Brokerage analysts working from DLD data put the change on August 2025 at minus 37% in number and minus 44% in value. Counts that include only homes show minus 35% and minus 46%, because they leave out commercial property and land.
- Sales under AED 2m fell by about 16%, while registrations above AED 5m rose by about 29%.
- Ultra-prime off-plan sales rose 12% year on year. Prime resale fell by two thirds.
- Dubai South again led by number of sales, with Azizi Venice alone accounting for roughly 1,500 transactions worth AED 1.22bn.
The projects at the top
By value, July's project rankings compiled from DLD exports were led by Eltiera Views on Jumeirah Islands, with RAW District on Sheikh Zayed Road close behind. In August the top spot went to Palm Central Private Residences on Palm Jebel Ali, and RAW District led apartments by number of sales. Nearly all the leaders are fresh launches by large developers in locations buyers already understand. Speculative resales barely feature.
How to read it as a buyer
Most of the year-on-year fall is a base effect. July beat June, and August's dip on July is ordinary Dubai seasonality. The cooling is still real: March to August volume was about 31% below the previous six months. It is just gentler than the headlines suggest.
Negotiating power has shifted to the buyer in the mid-market resale segment, where fewer deals are closing and sellers accept offers. In popular launches it has not: developers still sell at list price and discount through the payment plan. When you compare ready and off-plan, compare the cost of capital rather than projected growth: what you pay before handover, and what the unit rents for afterwards.
Considering one of the projects in these rankings, from RAW District to Palm Central Private Residences? We will benchmark it against resale in the same district using DLD figures, not the brochure.
In the news
Other write-ups on the site about the same thing.
Dubai property market in summer 2026: prices, transactions, rents and the rise of Dubai South
August 2026 in numbers: about 10,900 homes sold for AED 23.4bn, average prices 1.7% below a year earlier, three quarters of sales off-plan, and Dubai South leading on volume. What changed over the season and what to expect this autumn.
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.
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.
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.
Business Bay overtakes Palm Jumeirah in prime deals in August 2026, even as Dubai's wider market cools
Business Bay recorded 14 prime transactions in August 2026 against Palm Jumeirah's 10 — while Dubai-wide transaction volume fell 37% year-on-year and value fell 44%. Rental search demand rose 44% over the same period. What these seemingly contradictory numbers actually mean.
Post-handover payment plans in Dubai in 2026: how they work, and how they differ from paying on completion
Post-handover plans leave 25–50% of the price to be paid after you receive the keys, typically at 1% a month over two to three years. Examples from Tréppan Vision, RAW District and Altair 52, why Lunaya is a different structure, and what to check in the SPA.