A third. Or half.
The official figure for August is minus 36.7 percent. Take out a single developer and it is minus 50 percent. We show both numbers and separate what is market movement from what is one sales programme.
The video is in German. The key figures are summarised in English below.
The figures at a glance
In August, a single developer accounts for 22.7 percent of all purchase transactions, against 2.1 percent a year earlier. That shifts more than the volume figures. Three metrics that are often read as a change in demand move with it: typical unit size, the share of studios and the average purchase price. All three disappear once that developer is taken out.
- Residential purchase transactions
- 10,306 −36.7 % year on year
- Excluding the largest developer
- 7,968 −50.0 % year on year
- Median price per square foot
- AED 1,695 −2.4 % year on year, +0.5 % month on month
- Off-plan premium over ready stock
- 22.1 % after 41.6 % a year earlier
- Median rent on new leases
- AED 80,000 −1.2 % year on year, rent per sq ft +2.7 %
- Gross yield, ready stock
- 6.61 % 5.30 % calculated at off-plan prices
Below AED 800,000 the market appears to grow by more than a third. Adjusted, this bracket falls by a quarter as well. Above it, every single price bracket drops by roughly half, evenly, all the way into the segment above five million.
Sources: DLD sales register and Ejari rental register, as of 7 September 2026. Residential segment, median rather than mean. Yields are gross, before service charges, vacancy and management. Our volume figure matches the roughly minus 37 percent reported for August.
The full report, by email
Segments, price brackets, rental market and yields, on a few pages. The report is written in German. If you would like the figures explained in English, reply to the email and we will walk you through them.
Should we put this into context for your situation?
Whether the current market is an entry window for you depends on your position, your timeline and what the property has to do for you. We look at it together, without obligation.