UAE residents are backing Dubai as their preferred destination for long-term investment by a wide margin, according to research conducted by real estate platform PRYPCO and Ipsos.
Of those surveyed, 84 per cent named Dubai as the city offering the strongest long-term investment opportunities today, compared with 5 per cent each for New York and Singapore, and 3 per cent for London. When asked where they would invest AED 1 million today, 76 per cent chose Dubai, against 2 per cent each for the same three rival cities.
The findings cut against a common assumption about what draws investors to the emirate. While Dubai’s tax environment is frequently cited as its headline advantage, the study found safety and security ranked as the top reason residents find the city attractive for investment, with 71 per cent placing it first. The strength of the property market and business opportunities followed, cited by 40 per cent and 36 per cent of respondents respectively.
Confidence in Dubai’s trajectory also appears durable. Some 86 per cent of respondents said the emirate had become a more attractive investment destination over the past five years, and nine in ten expressed optimism about its economy over the next five. A total of 89 per cent said Dubai gives them a better chance of building long-term wealth than their home country.
“What these findings tell us is that Dubai has built something far more valuable than a competitive investment environment. It has built long-term confidence. Under the vision and leadership of Dubai’s government, initiatives such as the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan are helping shape a city where people don’t just come to live and work but choose to build their future. Safety, stability and quality of life are central to that confidence, and we’re seeing these factors increasingly influence long-term investment decisions,” Essa Ibrahim, Co-founder & President, PRYPCO said in a statement.
The data arrives against a backdrop of strong activity in Dubai’s property market. According to the Dubai Land Department, 104 real estate projects worth more than AED 111 billion were completed in the first half of 2026, a 52 per cent rise on the same period last year, adding more than 24,500 new residential units to the market.
Among residents who have not yet invested, appetite remains strong. Some 80 per cent said they would consider doing so within the next three years, with affordability the main constraint: 62 per cent said they do not yet have enough savings, while 41 per cent pointed to more affordable investment options and 38 per cent to better financing as factors that would make them more likely to act.
Fractional ownership platforms are positioning themselves to close that gap. PRYPCO’s own DFSA-regulated product, PRYPCO Blocks, allows investors to buy a share of a property starting from AED 500, with rental income distributed proportionally, letting residents build exposure to the market ahead of saving for a full deposit.
