Downtown Jebel Ali has displaced Business Bay as Dubai’s most active office location, capturing close to 30 per cent of all office transactions in the third quarter of 2026, according to CRC Property’s latest quarterly market report.
Dubai recorded 2,789 commercial sales transactions in Q3, just 1.8 per cent below the previous quarter and a marked improvement on Q2’s 21.5 per cent drop. Total commercial sales value fell 25.6 per cent to AED 18.04 billion, as smaller strata deals replaced large institutional trades.
“Q3 was a quarter of stabilisation rather than recovery. Deal counts held firm, but the mix shifted toward smaller transactions. For investors and occupiers alike, the message is discipline: price realistically and favour quality and income,” Behnam Bargh, Managing Director of CRC Property added.
Office unit sales rose 11.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 1,123 transactions, but office sales value dropped 42.0 per cent to AED 4.35 billion as the average deal size nearly halved to AED 3.87 million.
On a year-on-year basis, office sales value remains 40.4 per cent higher. Jumeirah Lakes Towers ranked third for office activity with 162 transactions, up 47.3 per cent on the prior quarter. Secondary office prices eased 1.2 per cent to AED 1,930 per sq ft, a slower decline than Q2’s 3.4 per cent fall.
On the industrial side, commercial land sales reached AED 6.81 billion, roughly 38 per cent of total commercial sales value for the quarter.
“With local authorities no longer releasing new land, investors and occupiers seeking long-term industrial positions are securing sites directly rather than waiting for fresh allocations,” Ashley Sonnenberger, Industrial & Logistics Manager at CRC Property said in a statement.
CRC’s own brokerage data pointed to strengthening demand. Buyer enquiries rose 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter, led by retail at 34 per cent. On the leasing side, instalment payment plans accounted for 83 per cent of the firm’s commercial leases, up from 73 per cent in Q2, while single-cheque annual payments fell from 27 per cent to 17 per cent.
