Dubai: August price estimate shows changing market cycle

The residential real estate average is down 1.7% year over year. Change throughout the city does not mean the same dynamics in every neighborhood.

Consultancy Cavendish Maxwell estimates that the average sale price for residential properties in Dubai was Dh1,636 per square foot in August 2026. This is 1.7% lower than the level of August of the previous year. Over the past three months, the figure has decreased by 1.3%.

These values describe the average of the market being studied. They do not mean that the price of any apartment has decreased by the same percentage: individual areas, completed homes and projects under construction may move differently. Installment terms and the composition of the exhibited objects are also important when comparing offers.

For the buyer, such statistics are a reason to take a closer look at comparable sales and total acquisition cost. A promotional discount in itself does not show how much more profitable an offer is than alternatives: it is necessary to take into account the original price, payments and characteristics of the object.

From one month it is impossible to deduce the exact trajectory of the market for several years. For an investment decision, it is more useful to test several scenarios - tenure, possible period without a tenant and costs - rather than relying only on further price increases.