Dubai Real Estate Market Update: October 2026

Our view from the ground

As we head toward the end of 2026, people understandably have more questions about where the market is going. The data tells a straightforward story - Dubai isn't slowing down, but how people are buying has changed.

Across the city, sales value and volume both picked up from September, led by resales and villas. Year-on-year figures will look softer for the rest of the year, but that is down to last year’s record peak rather than a market in reverse. The difference today is that buyers are taking their time, doing their homework, and refusing to overpay.

A lot of people are asking what recent regional headlines and higher borrowing costs mean for Dubai. With the Base Rate sitting at 3.90% and three-month EIBOR at 4.34%, mortgages simply cost more than they did a year ago. That has slowed down financed buyers in the middle of the market. But it has not stopped the market moving. Dubai’s population passed 4.82 million in late October, our viewings rose 4%, and cash buyers are still stepping up. At the very top, demand has barely blinked. In Jumeirah Golf Estates, just over half (56%) of the community’s total sales value in October went through Allsopp & Allsopp.

Heading into the final two months of the year, the big divide is between villas and apartments. Ready villas and townhouses remain hard to find, which is why they made up 44% of Dubai’s residential sales value from just 16% of transactions. Apartments are in a different position. New handovers this year mean tenants have real choice for the first time in years. That is why tenancy renewals fell 30% year-on-year across Dubai in October as renters moved around to find better value, and why apartment rents are levelling off.

For the rest of the year, success will come down to realistic pricing. With more choice for tenants and renewals down 30% year-on-year, landlords who price to today’s market are letting quickly.

For buyers, the market is giving them room to negotiate that they simply did not have twelve months ago. The demand is there, the people are here, but the days of simply putting a high price tag on a property and waiting for an offer are done.

Community-level sales and rental data is available on data.hub: https://www.allsoppandallsopp.com/dubai/properties/property-data-hub