Dubai Property Market Report — September 2025 (vs September 2024)

Dubai closed September 2025 with 20,127 property sales (+11.3% YoY) and AED 54.3B in transaction value (+21.2% YoY). Price momentum remained firm with AED 1,688/sqft (+9.7% YoY). The story of the month:
- Off-plan apartments powered volumes;
- Ready villas held up while off-plan villas cooled sharply;
- Plots and off-plan commercial surged;
- Mortgages fell, signaling a cash- and developer-plan-led market.
Market Highlights
- Total Market: 20,127 sales (+11.3%), AED 54.3B (+21.2%), avg. AED 1,688/sqft (+9.7%).
- Off-plan (1st sale): 14,932 sales (+14.8%), AED 36.6B (+21.0%), AED 1,761/sqft (+4.2%).
- Resale: 5,195 sales (+2.3%), AED 17.6B (+21.8%), AED 1,474/sqft (+10.5%).
By Property Type (volume / YoY / value):
- Apartments (total): 17,112 (+20.5%) | AED 31.8B
- Off-plan: 13,346 (+27.6%) | AED 24.9B
- Resale: 3,766 (+0.6%) | AED 6.9B
- Villas (total): 2,061 (–36.8%) | AED 12.3B
- Off-plan: 1,095 (–53.4%) | AED 6.0B
- Resale: 966 (+6.0%) | AED 6.2B
- Commercial (total): 514 (+46.0%) | AED 1.5B
- Off-plan: 259 (+245.3%) | AED 744.5M
- Resale: 255 (–7.9%) | AED 771.6M
- Plots: 439 (+66.3%) | AED 8.7B
- Off-plan +95% volume I AED 5.0B;
- Resale +42.8% I AED 3.7B)
- Buildings: 1 resale (–50%) | AED 12M
Prices & Rents
Sale Prices (Median / YoY):
- Off-plan Apartment: AED 1.28M (–4.6%) — higher psf (+4.2%) with smaller average sizes.
- Off-plan Villa: AED 4.33M (+49.9%) — ticket sizes skewing up despite softer volumes.
- Off-plan Commercial: AED 2.23M (+43.0%).
- Off-plan Plot: AED 7.50M (+25.0%).
- Resale Apartment: AED 1.18M (+12.4%).
- Resale Villa: AED 3.80M (+11.8%).
- Resale Commercial: AED 1.60M (+7.7%).
- Resale Plot: AED 6.50M (+32.7%).
Price per Sqft (YoY):
- Off-plan: Apartments +4.2%, Villas +6.7%, Commercial +39.1%, Plots +164.9%.
- Resale: Apartments +10.5%, Villas +15.7%, Commercial +11.7%, Plots +31.4%.
Rents (Median / YoY):
- Apartments: AED 87K (+6.1%)
- Villas: AED 190K (+5.6%)
- Commercial: AED 75K (+10.3%)
Implication: Yield support persists; apartment yields holding better than villa yields as villa prices outpace rents.
Demand Map — Top Performing Areas (by volume)
Off-plan Apartments:
- JVC (1,591)
- Al Barsha South 2 (1,280)
- Business Bay (1,017)
- DIP Second (843)
- Wadi Al Safa 5 (663)
Off-plan Villas:
- Al Yelayiss 1 (248)
- DIP Second (198)
- Dubai South (190)
- Al Yufrah 1 (106)
- Madinat Hind 4 (96)
Off-plan Commercial:
- Wadi Al Safa 3 (62)
- JVC (55)
- Business Bay (31)
- Motor City (24)
- Wadi Al Safa 5 (17)
Off-plan Plots:
- Dubai Hills Estate (24)
- Wadi Al Safa 5 (19)
- Nad Al Shiba 1 (19)
- Al Warsan 3 (15)
- Palm Jumeirah (15)
Resale Apartments:
- JVC (423)
- Dubai Marina (319)
- Business Bay (293)
- Downtown (205)
- Al Merkadh (188)
Resale Villas:
- Al Hebiah Fifth (116)
- Wadi Al Safa 5 (97)
- Dubai South (68)
- Emirates Living (51)
- Wadi Al Safa 7 (50)
Resale Commercial:
- Business Bay (87)
- Al Thanyah Fifth (65)
- International City (35)
- Al Thanyah First (14)
- Nadd Hessa (8)
Resale Plots:
- Saih Shuaib 1 (42)
- DIP Second (9)
- Jabal Ali First (8)
- Al Merkadh (8)
- DIP First (7)
“Big Ticket” — Top Areas by sales value
Off-plan Apartments:
- Business Bay (AED 2.2B)
- Mina Rashid (AED 1.7B)
- JVC (AED 1.7B)
- Trade Center 2 (AED 1.7B)
- Al Barsha South 2 (AED 1.6B)
Off-plan Villas:
- DIP Second (AED 1.4B)
- Dubai South (AED 845M)
- Al Yelayiss 1 (AED 767M)
- Al Yufrah 1 (AED 634M)
- World Islands (AED 400M)
Off-plan Plots:
- Business Bay (AED 822M)
- Dubai Hills Estate (AED 612M)
- Jabal Ali First (AED 463M)
- Nad Al Shiba 1 (AED 336M)
- Mankhool (AED 268M)
Resale Apartments:
- Dubai Marina (AED 967M)
- Downtown (AED 872M)
- Business Bay (AED 581M)
- Palm Jumeirah (AED 559M)
- JVC (AED 411M)
Resale Villas:
- Palm Jumeirah (AED 877M)
- Wadi Al Safa 5 (AED 420M)
- Al Thanyah Fifth (AED 396M)
- Al Hebiah Fifth (AED 391M)
- Sports City (AED 320M)
Resale Plots:
- Dubai Islands (AED 300.5M)
- Al Jadaf (AED 238.5M)
- Wadi Al Safa 3 (AED 221.5M)
- DIP Second (AED 193.8M)
- Saih Shuaib 1 (AED 169.1M)
Project Leaderboard
Best-selling off-plan apartments:
- Damac Riverside (836 / AED 1.1B)
- Binghatti Hillviews (544 / AED 607M)
- Binghatti Skyrise (318 / AED 578M)
- Binghatti Aquarise (305 / AED 513M)
- Chelsea Residences by Damac (268 / AED 754M)
Best-selling off-plan villas:
- Damac Islands – Seychelles 2 (176 / AED 532M)
- Dubai World Central (167 / AED 748M)
- Grand Polo – Selvara 4 (75 / AED 516M)
- The Valley – Farm Grove (58 / AED 295M)
- Grand Polo – Selvara 3 (51 / AED 358M)
Top resale apartment hubs:
- Azizi Riviera (85 / AED 77.8M)
- Elite Sports Residence (75 / AED 42.2M)
- Mediterranean Cluster (33 / AED 19.3M)
- Sobha Hartland – The Crest (32 / AED 67.1M)
- Barton House (30 / AED 20.6M)
Top resale villas:
- Rukan 3 (22 / AED 29.7M)
- Maha Townhouses (19 / AED 56.3M)
- Mudon Al Ranim 1 (18 / AED 61.5M)
- The Pulse Beachfront 3 (17 / AED 77.8M)
- The Villa (15 / AED 119M)
Highest apartment sales (price tags):
- Aman Residences (AED 83.5M)
- Casa Canal (AED 82.2M)
- The Alba Residences (AED 70.2M)
- Royal Atlantis (AED 63.5M)
- Address Grand Downtown (AED 60.7M)
Highest villa sales:
- World Islands (AED 200M)
- Jumeirah Second (AED 185M)
- Palm Jumeirah (AED 115M)
- Al Merkadh (AED 110M)
- Wadi Al Safa 3 (AED 44.8M)
Price Bands — Where demand clustered (units, % of segment)
- Off-plan Apartments: 1–2M (6,351; ~majority), then <1M (3,600). Premium (3–5M: 969; >5M: 489) showing depth.
- Off-plan Villas: Luxury-skewed — >5M (464) leads, then 3–5M (247) and 2–3M (243).
- Resale Apartments: Broad mid-market — <1M (1,609) and 1–2M (1,156) dominate.
- Resale Villas: Even spread across 2–3M (235), 3–5M (332), >5M (318).
(Percentages in source list look placeholder-low vs totals; we reference volumes for accuracy.)
Financing Pulse — Mortgages
- Mortgage value: AED 12.1B (–24.1% YoY)
- Mortgage transactions: 3,795 (–9% YoY)
Read-through: Lower mortgage share and strong off-plan uptake point to cash buyers + developer payment plans carrying 1st-sale volumes.
Momentum & Seasonality
- Off-plan apartments climbed month-on-month through Q3, peaking in September (13.5k).
- Off-plan villas fell sharply from early-year highs; September 1,095 stabilizes after August dip.
- Resale apartments stayed resilient (September 3,771, +9.1% MoM from August).
- Preliminary October tallies are lower across categories (partial-month effect) — not trend breaks.
Multi-Year Context (September snapshots)
- Off-plan Apartments: 2014→2025 volume 1,092 → 13,501 (+1,237%), value AED 1.6B → 25.1B (+1,469%).
- Resale Apartments: 2014→2025 volume 1,309 → 3,771 (+188%), value AED 1.9B → 6.9B (+263%).
- Off-plan Villas: cyclical; 2025 volume –53% YoY but median price +49.9% (mix shift to higher-ticket).
- Plots: volumes/value rebounded strongly in 2025 (volume +66% YoY; value AED 8.7B), with off-plan plots leading.
What This Means (DXBinteract read-through)
1) Apartments = demand engine.
Off-plan apartments continue to compound volume and value; developer pipelines and sub-AED 2M price points dominate absorption.
2) Villas bifurcating.
Off-plan villa volumes cooled (–53.4% YoY), but ticket sizes jumped; resale villas improved in both volume (+6%) and value (+21.9%), signaling end-user and upgrader depth at ready communities.
3) Land & commercial are back.
Plots (+66.3% vol) reflect bullish medium-term development, while off-plan commercial (+245% vol) shows confidence in SME and strata office/retail concepts.
4) Cash-led cycle.
Falling mortgage activity vs rising sales implies cash and developer plans steering the market; watch yields (rents still rising) and psf momentum for the sustainability check.
Strategy Playbook
For Buyers
- End-users (apartments): Prioritize JVC, Al Barsha South, DIP Second, Wadi Al Safa 5, Business Bay for depth, handover pipelines, and rent support.
- Villas: Consider ready stock in Al Hebiah Fifth, Wadi Al Safa clusters, Emirates Living where resale liquidity is healthy and rents are rising ~6%.
- Investors (yield focus): Favor resale apartments in JVC, Dubai Marina, Business Bay with 12-month rent growth and strong secondary liquidity.
For Sellers
- Apartments: Price to the 1–2M sweet spot to maximize enquiries; data shows it’s the demand bulk.
- Villas: Lean on YoY median gains and area-specific comps; premium product still clears if guided by recent benchmarks.
- Landholders: With plots value AED 8.7B, now is prime to test the market—especially in Dubai Hills Estate, Nad Al Shiba 1, Jabal Ali First.
For Agents
- Lead with evidence: psf gains, rent growth, and area leaderboards build conviction.
- Map clients to payment-plan vs mortgage paths early (mortgage share down).
- Track project velocity (Damac Riverside, Binghatti launches, Chelsea Residences) to place buyers into momentum inventories.