Meydan City recorded AED2.95 billion in residential sales across 1,496 transactions in the first half of 2026, with a single project, Mercedes-Benz Places Binghatti City, accounting for 1,216 of those deals, according to a market report by Driven Forbes Global Properties.
Transaction volume was 626 per cent above the same period a year earlier, and sales value rose 363 per cent. The half-year total also exceeded every full-year figure in the historical series Driven presented, including AED1.74 billion in 2024 and AED1.71 billion in 2025, the report said.
The average transaction price fell 36 per cent to AED1.97 million, a shift the report attributed to the volume of studios and one-bedroom units sold within the Mercedes-Benz project rather than a broader decline in values. Studios accounted for more than 900 of the project’s sales, with transactions concentrated in the AED3,500 to AED3,800 per sq ft range.
The result is a district now operating, in Driven’s words, as a “two-track market”. Off-plan units changed hands at an average AED3,341 per sq ft against AED1,815 per sq ft for completed resale stock, a premium of about 84 per cent. Driven cautioned that the district-wide average of AED2,959 per sq ft is not a reliable measure of all Meydan homes given how heavily the Mercedes-Benz launch has skewed the dataset.
Binghatti Holding registered 81% of total sales in the district. Gulf Land Property Developers recorded 89 transactions, Invest Group Overseas 87, Elysian Luxury Development 20, G&Co Real Estate Development 17 and Aviaan Real Estate Development 15. Stripping out Mercedes-Benz Places, the remaining 280 transactions averaged AED2,013 per sq ft.
Within the project, Mercedes-Benz Places Tower 2 (Maybach) posted the highest average at AED3,744 per sq ft, while Tower 5 averaged AED3,658, Tower 3 AED3,655, Tower 4 AED3,650 and Tower 1 AED3,520. Jude Residence recorded AED1,112 per sq ft at the lower end of the district range. The spread between the lowest and highest project rates has widened to about 3.4 times, compared with roughly two times before the branded projects arrived.
Resale activity moved differently. Seventy-four third-party resale transactions were registered in the half year, with the transaction-weighted price rising 15.8 per cent to AED1,815 per sq ft. Volume fell 42.6 per cent over the same period. Driven described the pattern as “prices rose as turnover thinned” and suggested it pointed to owners holding completed properties rather than a shortage of buyers, though it noted the 74-transaction base makes the reading directional rather than definitive.
Apartment occupancy stood at 90.1 per cent in 2025, 2.1 percentage points above 2024. Renewals accounted for 57 per cent of rental transactions in the first half of 2026.
On rentals, new lettings averaged AED97 per sq ft against AED84 per sq ft for renewals, putting new contracts 14.9 per cent above existing leases. Driven estimated a gross yield from new lettings of 5.9 per cent across the district and an indicative net yield of 4.4 per cent for completed apartments after occupancy and service charges. One-bedroom homes generated a gross yield of 6.8%, two-bedroom homes 5.6 per cent and three-bedroom homes 5 per cent, though Driven noted the three-bedroom figures rest on limited data. By project, Jude Residence led at 8.8 per cent, Azizi Gardens at 8.4 per cent and Azizi Park Avenue at 7.9 per cent.
Driven also disclosed a block purchase of its own. The company bought all 30 homes in The Polo Residences A3 in April for about AED60.84 million, comprising 15 one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and three three-bedroom units at a blended AED1,475 per sq ft. It excluded the deal from its open-market comparables because the homes were acquired as a portfolio rather than individual sales. The portfolio generated about 4.9 per cent gross income on cost, according to the report.
Commercial transactions also picked up. Thirty-one commercial sales were registered in the first half of 2026, compared with 15 for the whole of 2025. Twenty-seven were off-plan shops in Mercedes-Benz Places and the Azizi Meydan Avenue area.
Branded off-plan retail sold at a median AED6,627 per sq ft, against AED1,825 per sq ft for completed retail. New shop leases averaged AED158 per sq ft over the trailing year against AED121 for renewals, and Driven estimated a gross yield on ready retail of about 8.7 per cent.
Mercedes-Benz Places Binghatti City was launched in January with a stated development value of AED30 billion. The project covers more than 10 million sq ft and is planned to include more than 13,000 residences across 12 towers and three phases, with deliveries scheduled between 2027 and 2029. Studio prices start at AED1.3 million, one-bedroom homes at AED2.25 million and penthouses above AED10 million.
Driven identifies 2027, when the first handovers are scheduled, as a point likely to shift the balance between completed and off-plan supply in the district. The report uses Reidin transaction and rental records, Dubai Land Department registration data, developer disclosures and Driven research, and notes that registry reporting lags may result in some figures being revised.
