Dubai house prices fall year-on-year for first time since 2021
Dubai house prices fell year-on-year for the first time since 2021 in August, as sales prices dropped 1.7% and transaction values reached $6.4bn.
Dubai house prices have fallen year-on-year for the first time since February 2021, marking a shift in the emirate’s residential property market after an extended period of price growth.
Average sales prices stood at AED1,636 ($445) per square foot in August 2026, down 1.7 per cent compared with August last year and 1.3 per cent over the previous three months, according to data from real estate advisory and property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell.
The annual decline is the first recorded since February 2021, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Cavendish Maxwell.
Despite the decline in average prices, residential sales values reached AED23.4bn ($6.4bn) during August.
Year-to-date transactions were worth nearly AED270bn ($73.5bn), although transaction values during the first eight months of 2026 were 24 per cent lower than during the same period in 2025.
Dubai real estate sales
Nearly 10,900 homes were purchased during August, around 14 per cent fewer than in July, partly reflecting the traditional summer slowdown in buyer activity.
Off-plan properties accounted for around 75 per cent of residential sales during the month.
Ronan Arthur, Director, Head of Residential Valuation at Cavendish Maxwell, said the latest figures showed the Dubai residential market continuing its transition following a prolonged period of strong sales and rising prices.
“After an extended period of exceptional strong sales activity with sustained price increases, the Dubai residential market continues its transition to a more measured phase. The August data confirms what our in-depth market insight, covering quarterly, six-month and annual statistics and trends, has been telling us for a while: prices are softening and the market is entering a more mature cycle.
“The fundamentals that drive Dubai real estate demand in the emirate remain intact, but the near-term outlook is being shaped by a combination of fewer launches, regional uncertainty and a broader normalisation in buyer activity, which will continue to influence transaction levels and price performance”.
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