A G H Research
Insights & Articles
Weekly analysis of Dubai's property market from the A G H Properties team.
Dubai market this week: 11,297 sales, median AED 1,671 per sq ft
September closed with 11,297 registered sales worth AED 29.4 billion, and a market median of AED 1,671 per square foot — -2.1% on the month.
Read article →Dubai's Rental Market Turns: New Leases Now Outnumber Renewals for the First Time
Analysis of Dubai Land Department tenancy data shows new leases exceeded renewals in July and August 2026, the first time since the dataset began in 2023, while new-lease rents sit up to 15.3% below January levels. What the shift means for landlords, tenants and investors.
Read article → · 4 min readNine Months In: Dubai's Ready Homes Out-Earn Off-Plan, Even as Off-Plan Wins on Volume
Dubai Land Department figures published on 1 October show AED 574 billion of transactions in the first nine months of 2026. Off-plan accounts for far more deals, but ready property generated more value: AED 196 billion against AED 183 billion. The gap between deal count and deal value says a good deal about who is buying what.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai's Resale Market Has Turned. The Buyers Still Missing Are Today's Tenants.
Secondary-market transactions in Dubai rose 24.6% in July and August against May and June, reversing last summer's pattern. Yet resale volumes remain far below 2025 while rental activity has barely moved. The gap between those two numbers is where the next phase of the market will be decided.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai Home Prices Post Their First Annual Decline Since 2021
Average residential prices in Dubai fell 1.7% year-on-year in August — the first annual decline since the pandemic. Sales values are down too, yet volumes remain substantial and September's transaction pace has accelerated. Here is what a market moving into a more measured cycle actually looks like in the numbers.
Read article → · 4 min readHalf of Dubai's Villa Buyers Now Want Four Bedrooms or More
The share of prospective Dubai villa buyers searching for four bedrooms or more has risen from 44% to 50% in a year. Set against a supply pipeline that is 81% apartments and a stock in which villas make up under a fifth of all homes, that six-point shift explains more about where Dubai pricing is heading than any citywide average does.
Read article → · 5 min readAbu Dhabi Outsold Dubai Last Week. That Had Not Happened Since 2020.
Between 24 and 29 August, Abu Dhabi registered AED 5.09 billion of home sales against Dubai's AED 4.47 billion — the first time the capital has exceeded Dubai in a comparable week in more than five and a half years. Read alongside Dubai's August figures, where sales fell 35% year-on-year but median price per square foot fell only 1.9%, the week describes a UAE that is no longer a one-city market.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai Price Growth Has Flatlined. Yield Is Now the Return.
REIDIN's July index shows Dubai residential prices have fallen for five consecutive months, cutting annual growth to 0.55% from 11.79% in January. Apartments are now worth 0.09% more than a year ago. Yet the week of 16–20 August saw AED 10.68 billion trade — up 11.5% on the previous week. A market that stops paying capital gains does not stop working; it starts paying differently.
Read article → · 5 min readLand Is Now 39% of Dubai's Property Spend — and That Tells You More Than Prices Do
Dubai Land Department figures show 7,981 plots sold for AED 125 billion in the first seven months of 2026 — nearly four in every ten dirhams spent on property in the emirate. Land is the longest-horizon commitment a developer can make, and it is being made at record scale in the same quarter that rents fell 6.2% and residential volumes dropped 29%. Reading those two facts together is the most useful thing an investor can do right now.
Read article → · 5 min readDubai's Two-Speed Market: Commercial Sales Triple While Residential Cools
New Dubai Land Department data shows commercial property sales hit a record AED 19.5 billion in H1 2026 — up 183% and already past all of 2025 — even as JLL reports residential transaction volumes fell almost 29% year-on-year. The two halves of Dubai's market are now moving in opposite directions, and the split tells investors more than any single headline number.
Read article → · 4 min readAbu Dhabi's AED 117 Billion Half-Year: The UAE Is Now a Two-Engine Property Market
New ADREC data shows Abu Dhabi real estate transactions more than doubled to AED 117 billion in H1 2026, with foreign direct investment up 309% and investor nationalities jumping from 82 to 116. For UAE investors, the capital is no longer a side story to Dubai — and the smartest portfolios are starting to treat the two markets as one strategy.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai's Quiet Rotation: Ready Homes Surge 46.8% as Handovers Peak and New Launches Slow
Ready-home sales just posted their strongest monthly rise in three years while Q2 launches fell to 5,335 units — a fraction of Q1's 45,000+. Beneath a steady AED 15.6 billion week, Dubai's market is rotating from launch-driven momentum to delivery and the secondary market.
Read article → · 4 min readH1 2026 Closes at AED 286 Billion: Reading Dubai's First Down Half-Year in Three Years
Dubai's official first-half numbers landed this week: AED 286.4 billion in sales across 86,005 transactions — the second-largest H1 on record, yet 12% below 2025. Beneath the headline, offices, luxury homes and off-plan volume all set records. Here is how to read a market that is shrinking and breaking records at the same time.
Read article → · 3 min readDubai Closes H1 2026: The Second-Best Half on Record — and the First Decline in Three Years
AED 286.4 billion in sales across 86,005 transactions made H1 2026 Dubai's second-strongest half ever, yet 12% below last year. June's 31% rebound and a record off-plan office run show why this correction is more selective than it looks.
Read article → · 4 min readJune's Rebound: Dubai's Market Snapped Back — and Off-Plan Did the Lifting
Dubai closed June with 13,766 sales worth AED 32.66 billion — volumes up roughly 31% on May — while off-plan took 72% of transactions. Add a record AED 275 billion launch pipeline and the new Flexi Rent scheme, and the mid-year picture looks firmer than the spring suggested.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai's Market Is Cooling — and the Numbers Suggest That's Healthy
Dubai recorded roughly 9,500 residential sales in May, down 27% from April, while off-plan held 74% of the market. A softer market with disciplined buyers is a maturation signal, not a warning — here is how to read it.
Read article → · 4 min readDubai's Southern Corridor Is Now Leading on Value, Not Just Volume
Airport City topped Dubai's weekly transaction value at AED 611M as off-plan sales reached AED 3.3B. The city's growth is shifting decisively south — here is what that means for buyers.
Read article → · 4 min readUnderstanding DLD Transaction Data: A Practical Guide for Buyers and Investors
Dubai publishes every registered property transaction through the Dubai Land Department. Here is how to read that data — and use it to negotiate better.
Read article → · 2 min readOff-Plan vs Ready Property in Dubai: A Framework for Deciding
Payment plans, handover risk, rental yield, exit liquidity — a structured way to choose between off-plan and ready property in Dubai.
Read article → · 2 min read