Dubai Property Market September 2026: AED 50.78bn in Deals, Prices and Sales by Area

Dubai's property market recorded 16,490 real estate transactions worth AED 50.78 billion in September 2026, according to Dubai Land Department (DLD) figures published on 1 October. Sales made up AED 29.66 billion of that total across 11,430 deals, with mortgages adding AED 16.79 billion and gift transfers AED 4.33 billion. This is the sixth monthly report in which Dubai's annual total has stayed on course for a record year, even as average prices have stopped rising.

This guide puts the headline numbers next to something most monthly round-ups do not have: registered residential sales in 22 Dubai communities, taken from DLD open data and synced to Rich Property's own database every morning. You can see how many homes sold in each area in September, the median price per square foot that buyers actually paid, how that compares with August, and how much of the activity was off-plan.

September 2026 in numbers: AED 50.78 billion across 16,490 transactions

September's AED 50.78 billion was up from August's AED 46.22 billion, and the sales component rose 6.3% by value, from AED 27.89 billion to AED 29.66 billion, while the number of sales slipped 1.5%, from 11,600 to 11,430. Fewer deals at a higher average ticket is the pattern of a market where ready homes and larger units are taking a bigger share of the money.

Ready-built sales were worth AED 16.03 billion from 3,955 transactions, an average of about AED 4.05 million per deal. Off-plan sales were worth AED 13.63 billion from 7,476 transactions, an average of about AED 1.82 million. Off-plan therefore accounted for 65% of September's sales by count but only 46% by value. Of the 11,430 sales, 9,744 were residential units, 777 were buildings and 910 were land plots.

Over the first nine months of 2026 DLD registered 165,018 transactions worth AED 574.12 billion. Sales alone reached AED 379.4 billion from 123,416 deals: AED 196.08 billion in ready property (39,320 deals) and AED 183.32 billion off-plan (84,090 deals). Mortgages added AED 151.13 billion and gifts AED 43.6 billion.

Are Dubai property prices falling in 2026?

Slightly, on the citywide averages. Cavendish Maxwell put the average residential sales price at AED 1,636 per sq ft in August 2026, 1.7% lower than a year earlier and 1.3% lower than three months before. It is the first year-on-year decline since February 2021, after four years of growth, and it arrived in the same months that saw record transaction volumes. Supply is the reason: tens of thousands of off-plan units launched in 2024 and 2025 are reaching the registration stage, and more choice gives buyers more room to negotiate.

Registered sales in the communities we track tell a flatter story for September itself. The median apartment price was AED 1,811 per sq ft, up 0.9% on August's AED 1,794, and the median villa price was AED 1,721 per sq ft against AED 1,714. Monthly medians move with the mix of what sold, so a single month is not a trend, but there is no sign in the September registrations of a sharp fall. The picture is a market that has stopped rising and is now sorting homes by location, quality and asking price.

Sales and prices by area: September versus August 2026

The table below covers registered residential sales (apartments and villas) in 22 Dubai communities between 1 August and 30 September 2026. The communities follow the groupings on our Dubai area pages; some combine several DLD districts. Price per sq ft is calculated on the area DLD records for each transaction, which for villas is usually the plot. Medians are used rather than averages so that one AED 260 million villa does not distort an area's figure. Click an area for its full transaction page.

Area	Sep sales	vs Aug	Median AED/sq ft	vs Aug	Median price	Off-plan share
Dubailand	1,150	+28%	AED 1,635	+2.4%	AED 1.10M	87%
Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)	775	+12%	AED 1,407	-1.3%	AED 0.95M	55%
Dubai Creek Harbour	388	+91%	AED 2,559	+4.4%	AED 2.32M	78%
Business Bay	316	+5%	AED 2,037	-4.5%	AED 1.95M	36%
MBR City (Meydan, Sobha Hartland)	187	+29%	AED 1,971	+3.8%	AED 1.45M	25%
Downtown Dubai	172	+1%	AED 2,816	+1.8%	AED 3.16M	30%
Dubai Hills Estate	149	+6%	AED 2,372	+6.6%	AED 2.30M	46%
Dubai Marina	141	-25%	AED 2,010	-11.5%	AED 2.46M	13%
Dubai South	139	+64%	AED 1,324	+8.2%	AED 1.03M	73%
Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT)	136	-10%	AED 1,862	-16.1%	AED 1.88M	57%
Al Furjan	92	-7%	AED 1,361	+6.2%	AED 1.61M	35%
Palm Jumeirah	59	+18%	AED 2,883	-1.0%	AED 6.00M	31%
City Walk and Al Wasl	58	+16%	AED 3,076	-2.5%	AED 2.75M	62%
Al Barari and Wadi Al Safa 3	39	-46%	AED 1,979	+60.2%	AED 2.01M	82%
Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)	37	+12%	AED 1,536	-1.2%	AED 2.25M	0%
Nad Al Sheba	32	+23%	AED 2,033	+11.8%	AED 5.24M	69%
Emaar Beachfront (Dubai Harbour)	25	+25%	AED 2,983	-11.3%	AED 3.60M	28%
Emirates Hills	19	-32%	AED 1,731	+23.5%	AED 4.42M	0%
Palm Jebel Ali	19	-84%	AED 3,567	+0.7%	AED 4.32M	100%
Madinat Jumeirah Living (Umm Suqeim 3)	14	+27%	AED 2,672	+0.3%	AED 3.29M	7%
Emaar South	13	-19%	AED 1,280	-2.5%	AED 1.98M	15%
Jumeirah, La Mer and Jumeirah Bay	11	+57%	AED 2,884	-56.6%	AED 3.45M	0%

Together these 22 communities recorded 3,971 residential sales worth AED 9.09 billion in September, up from 3,505 sales in August. Five patterns stand out.

• Dubailand, JVC and Dubai Creek Harbour did the volume. Dubailand's 1,150 sales and JVC's 775 were 87% and 55% off-plan. Dubai Creek Harbour almost doubled, from 203 to 388 sales, with 78% off-plan and a median of AED 2,559 per sq ft, which is why Creek Harbour is now the third busiest community in the city.
• Business Bay stayed busy but the money moved. Sales edged up from 302 to 316, yet the total value fell from AED 1.05 billion to AED 707 million as fewer large units changed hands. The median price per sq ft eased 4.5% to AED 2,037.
• Dubai Marina and JLT softened the most. Marina's median fell 11.5% to AED 2,010 per sq ft on 141 sales, and JLT's fell 16.1% to AED 1,862. Both are ready-dominated resale markets where the extra supply of 2026 is being felt first. Buyers looking at Dubai Marina or JLT this autumn have more negotiating room than at any time in the past two years.
• Prime beachfront held or rose. Palm Jumeirah recorded AED 941 million from 59 sales, including a 6-bedroom villa registered at AED 260 million on 1 September and four Como Residences apartments between AED 60 million and AED 71 million. Downtown Dubai's median rose 1.8% to AED 2,816 per sq ft, and Emaar Beachfront, City Walk and Palm Jebel Ali all stayed above AED 2,900 per sq ft.
• Villa communities thinned out. Emirates Hills registered 19 sales, Al Barari and its neighbours 39, and Nad Al Sheba 32. In these areas a handful of deals set the median, so compare individual sales rather than the headline figure when pricing a specific villa.

Villas versus apartments in September 2026

In the 22 tracked communities, apartments accounted for 3,627 registered sales worth AED 7.41 billion in September, up 11% by count from 3,260 in August, with 60% of them off-plan. Villa sales rose faster, from 247 to 348, and their value from AED 1.06 billion to AED 1.69 billion. The off-plan share of villa sales jumped from 40% to 57%, driven by registrations at Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Hills Estate and Nad Al Sheba.

That shift matters for anyone comparing a developer's launch price with the resale market. A median of AED 1,721 per sq ft for villas sounds modest next to apartments, but villa prices are measured on plot area, and ready villas in established communities trade on a different basis from off-plan plots that will not be handed over until 2028 or 2029.

Top-selling areas in 2026 so far

DLD's nine-month ranking by sales value puts Business Bay first with more than AED 20 billion, followed by Airport City at AED 17.72 billion, Al Yalayis 1 at AED 16.09 billion, Palm Deira (Dubai Islands) at AED 12.98 billion and Palm Jumeirah at AED 11.61 billion. Business Bay's lead comes from volume: hundreds of apartment sales a month at a median around AED 2,000 per sq ft. Palm Jumeirah's comes from ticket size, with a median September sale of AED 6 million.

In the primary market, Dubai South was the best-performing area for September with 737 off-plan sales worth AED 980.5 million, consistent with the 139 registrations and 73% off-plan share in our own table for the Dubai South community.

What September's data means if you are buying now

• Negotiate on ready resale. Ready homes made up 54% of September's sales value but only 35% of the count, and the softest medians were in ready-dominated Marina and JLT. Sellers who have held a unit since 2021 or 2022 are still well ahead and can move on price.
• Check launch prices against registered sales. Where off-plan is 70% to 90% of activity, as in Dubailand, Creek Harbour and Dubai South, the registered median is the fairest benchmark for a new launch in the same community. Our area pages show the last 90 days of DLD sales for each one.
• Finance is still flowing. DLD registered 4,266 mortgages worth AED 16.79 billion in September. Bank-financed buyers are active, which supports the ready market even as prices flatten. See our guide to buying from the UK or from India for lending limits for non-residents.
• Use the month, not the year. The headline year-on-year fall of 1.7% is an average across every district. Downtown rose, Marina fell, and Palm Jumeirah set a record. Price the community, then the building, then the unit.

Rich Property's current listings in the busiest September communities include a one-bedroom apartment in DAMAC Towers by Paramount, Business Bay, a two-bedroom resale in Burj Binghatti Jacob and Co Residences, Business Bay, a tenanted one-bedroom in Marina Quays West, Dubai Marina, a one-bedroom in Binghatti House, JVC, and two- and three-bedroom apartments in Address Harbour Point, Dubai Creek Harbour. For the step-by-step process and fees, read our guide to buying property in Dubai and our comparison of off-plan and ready property.

Frequently asked questions

How many property transactions did Dubai record in September 2026?

DLD recorded 16,490 transactions worth AED 50.78 billion in September 2026: 11,430 sales worth AED 29.66 billion, 4,266 mortgages worth AED 16.79 billion and 796 gift transfers worth AED 4.33 billion.

Are Dubai property prices going down in 2026?

Citywide averages fell 1.7% year on year in August 2026 to AED 1,636 per sq ft, the first annual decline since 2021. Registered medians in September were flat month on month in most communities, with falls in Dubai Marina and JLT and gains in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Creek Harbour and Dubai South.

Which Dubai areas had the most sales in September 2026?

Among the communities we track, Dubailand (1,150 residential sales), Jumeirah Village Circle (775), Dubai Creek Harbour (388), Business Bay (316) and MBR City (187) recorded the most registered residential sales in September 2026.

What is the average price per square foot in Dubai in 2026?

Cavendish Maxwell measured AED 1,636 per sq ft across all residential sales in August 2026. Registered medians in September ranged from about AED 1,300 per sq ft in Dubai South and Emaar South to AED 2,800 to 3,600 per sq ft in Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, City Walk, Emaar Beachfront and Palm Jebel Ali.

Is September 2026 a good time to buy property in Dubai?

Buyers have more choice and more negotiating room than in 2024 or 2025, especially in ready resale markets, while transaction volumes show demand is intact. The right answer depends on the community and the unit: compare the asking price with registered sales in the same building before you make an offer.

Sources: Dubai Land Department monthly transaction figures as reported by Emirates 24|7, 1 October 2026; DLD open data (Dubai Pulse) registered transactions, 1 August to 30 September 2026, residential sales in 22 communities synced to Rich Property's database under the Dubai Open Data Licence; Cavendish Maxwell August 2026 price data as reported by Edwards and Towers, September 2026. Photos: Rich Property listings RP193 and RP195. Cover: AI-generated illustration of the Dubai skyline, not a photograph of a specific property.