Dubai residential property prices have fallen on an annual basis for the first time since February 2021, according to data from real estate consultancy Cavendish Maxwell.
The average price in August 2026 stood at AED1,636 per square foot, down 1.7 per cent year-on-year and 1.3 per cent lower than three months earlier.
Residential sales values totalled AED23.4 billion in August, and year-to-date transactions reached nearly AED270 billion, though that figure represents a 24 per cent decline from the same eight-month period in 2025.
Just under 10,900 homes were sold in August, around 14 per cent fewer than in July. Cavendish Maxwell attributed part of that drop to the usual summer slowdown in buyer activity. Off-plan properties made up roughly 75 per cent of August sales.
“After an extended period of exceptional strong sales activity with sustained price increases, the Dubai residential market continues its transition to a more measured phase. The August data confirms what our in-depth market insight – covering quarterly, six-month and annual statistics and trends – has been telling us for a while: prices are softening and the market is entering a more mature cycle.
“The fundamentals that drive Dubai real estate demand in the emirate remain intact, but the near-term outlook is being shaped by a combination of fewer launches, regional uncertainty and a broader normalisation in buyer activity, which will continue to influence transaction levels and price performance,” Ronan Arthur, Director, Head of Residential Valuation at Cavendish Maxwell said in a statement.
