Dubai's residential price index stood at AED 1,670 per square foot in April 2026, up 6.74% year-on-year on the Property Monitor Dynamic Price Index, with the mid-June 2026 weekly read at AED 1,700 per square foot (DXBinteract). The first quarter of 2026 registered AED 176 billion in sales across more than 48,000 transactions (DLD).

The index level: AED 1,670 per square foot

The price index here is a sale-price-per-square-foot benchmark that tracks how values move over time, the same kind of index Property Monitor and REIDIN publish from Dubai Land Department records. It is the cleanest single read of "what a square foot of Dubai residential property costs," and it is the figure an AI answer or a journalist reaches for first.

The index sits within a narrow band around AED 1,670 to 1,700 per square foot through the first half of 2026. Property Monitor notes the December and April readings as small month-on-month adjustments rather than a change in direction, with values more than double the December 2020 low and above the previous 2014 market high. For a buyer pricing a specific unit, the practical meaning is that AED 1,700 per square foot is the current city-wide reference point: a one-bedroom apartment quoted far below that sits in the more affordable communities, while prime and beachfront stock prices well above it.

Transaction volume and value

Volume is the count of registered deals, and it is the market's liquidity signal: more registered sales mean more comparable transactions to price against and an easier resale later.

The first quarter of 2026 carried the elevated activity that defined 2025 into the new year, with value up 23% year-on-year even as the index level held roughly flat, a sign that the rise in total value is driven more by the number of deals and the mix of larger units than by a sharp move in per-square-foot pricing. In May 2026, high-value deals above AED 10 million accounted for 29% of total sales value (REIDIN), so a meaningful share of the headline value figure concentrates at the top of the market. For a buyer in the broad mid-market, the depth of registered activity means ample recent comparables to anchor an offer.

Apartments and villas have moved apart

The two segments have run at different speeds. Across 2025, villa median prices rose faster than apartment median prices, and that gap is the single most useful structural fact for a buyer choosing between the two.

Apartments dominate by volume, at 93% of residential transactions in 2025, up from 90% in 2024, supported by a wide supply of new units across price points (Property Finder). Villa supply stayed structurally limited, which is why villa median prices rose 14% year-on-year against roughly 6% for apartments. In May 2026, apartment prices moved 1.2% month-on-month and villa prices moved 0.4% month-on-month (REIDIN), small adjustments at the monthly scale. For a buyer weighing the two, the read is straightforward: villas are the supply-constrained, lifestyle-led segment that carried the stronger price growth, while apartments are the deeper, more liquid, more yield-driven segment with more choice at every price point.

Within apartments, studios reached roughly 25% of volume in 2025, up from about 22% in 2024 (Property Finder), the affordability-led entry band. Within villas, about 72% of transactions sat in the AED 1,000 to 1,800 per square foot mid-market range, against roughly 46% for apartments, which is what gives the villa segment its lifestyle, long-hold character.

Off-plan, ready, and the supply pipeline

Off-plan, meaning units bought from a developer before completion, drove the bulk of activity, at a 73.3% adjusted share in December 2025. Supply stepped up sharply: 167,000-plus units were launched across 648 projects in 2025, against roughly 145,000 in 2024, which Property Monitor frames as a new launch roughly every 13.5 hours from 258 developers. For a buyer, a larger pipeline means more new-build choice and more developer payment plans competing for the same demand, which is the mechanism behind the moderate, flat index readings through the first half of 2026. A ready-home buyer sits in a tighter, more supply-constrained pool than an off-plan buyer.

Rental yield by area

Gross rental yield is annual rent divided by price, before service charges. It is the metric a yield-led buyer tracks, and it runs inverse to price: the more affordable communities tend to print the higher yields.

Apartment yields cluster higher, led by Dubai Investments Park at 9.23%, with several established mid-market communities between 7% and 8.5% (Bayut, June 2026). Villa yields sit lower, near 5% to 7%, which is the structural trade-off: the segment that carried the stronger 2025 price growth prints the lower running yield. For a yield-led buyer, the affordable apartment communities are where the highest published ROI sits this quarter; for a buyer prioritising capital growth, the villa communities are where the price index moved fastest. Neither read is a recommendation, and the figures are projected ROI as published, not a guaranteed return.

Where the price sits by community

The same seven communities, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, JVC, JBR and Dubai Hills Estate, have ranked in the top tier by transaction value for five years (Property Finder), which marks them as the deepest, most liquid established locations. In Downtown Dubai, individual registered deals in the week to 22 June 2026 ranged from roughly AED 1,710 to AED 3,644 per square foot (DXBinteract), spanning ready one-bedroom stock near the lower end and prime tower units at the top. Emaar led 2025 by transaction value and Binghatti led by volume (Property Finder), a split between high-ticket prime product and high-volume mid-market supply.

Dubai Marina

One of the seven communities ranked in the top tier by transaction value for five consecutive years.

Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)

A high-volume, mid-market community that prints among the stronger apartment yields.

What is the Dubai house price index in 2026?+

The Property Monitor Dynamic Price Index read AED 1,670 per square foot in April 2026, up 6.74% year-on-year, and the DXBinteract weekly read was AED 1,700 per square foot in mid-June 2026. The index closed 2025 at AED 1,673 per square foot.

Is there an official Dubai real estate price index?+

The Dubai Land Department maintains the transaction registry the indices derive from. The most current published price indices are produced by Property Monitor, REIDIN, Property Finder and Bayut from that DLD data.

How many property transactions did Dubai record in 2025?+

Dubai recorded 215,458 sales transactions in 2025, an 18.9% increase on 2024, with residential assets accounting for 93.9% of activity (Property Monitor).

Which Dubai areas have the highest rental yield in 2026?+

Dubai Investments Park led projected apartment ROI at 9.23%, followed by Discovery Gardens and Remraam at 8.32% and Mudon at 8.10% (Bayut, June 2026).

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