Over 80 percent of the new real estate units introduced in Dubai since 2022 have been fully sold, indicating a persistent high demand for off-plan projects in the emirate. Since 2022, both local and international developers have initiated real estate ventures worth hundreds of billions of dirhams in Dubai. Dubai Land Department data reveals that nearly 214 projects have been initiated, with 148 currently active.
Taimur Khan, head of research for the Middle East at CBRE, noted that despite concerns about the potential impact of new launches on prices, the absorption rate of new units is significantly high, with at least 70 percent of units launched since 2022 already sold. Khan further highlighted that in Dubai’s established residential areas, this figure averages well above 80 percent.
Post-pandemic, several developers have managed to sell their entire inventories rapidly, with some projects selling out within a day or even just a few hours. The majority of buyers are owner-occupiers, driven by the desire to own property to escape the competitive rental market and the influx of high-net-worth individuals moving to Dubai.
In May 2024, the total number of transactions reached 15,766, a record high, marking a 44.2 percent increase from the previous year, according to CBRE. Property prices also exceeded previous peaks, with prices at Dh1,360 per square foot in May 2024, a 10.25 percent increase from the previous market peak in September 2014.
Khan observed that a significant portion of the demand in the off-plan market comes from owner-occupiers, suggesting that while increased supply might alleviate the rental market, it is unlikely to exert downward pressure on sales prices. CBRE’s monthly report indicates a shift in market dynamics since 2019, with buyers increasingly moving away from core and prime residential areas due to limited supply and higher costs in these established neighborhoods, as noted by Tatiana El Bazi, senior research analyst at CBRE.
