Sharjah recorded AED65.6 billion in real estate sales in 2025, a 64 per cent rise on the previous year and a new annual high for the emirate, according to data from property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell.
The market carried that energy into 2026: Q1 transaction values climbed 41 per cent year-on-year to AED18.5 billion, with nearly 9,980 properties sold between January and March, up 23 per cent on the same quarter in 2024.
“Sharjah is entering a new phase of economic ambition. FDI reached AED7.7 billion last year, with H1 alone recording a 361 per cent surge to AED5.5 billion. GDP grew 4.4 per cent with projected 2.5 per centfurther growth this year, business licences climbed nearly 9 per cent to reach more than 77,500, and annual real estate transactions reached a record AED65.6 billion. All this signals an emirate at an inflection point. Foreign ownership reforms, huge investment in infrastructure projects like Etihad Rail and major road improvements, and Sharjah’s relatively low living costs are driving new and unprecedented demand for real estate in the emirate, where the population is projected to grow from 1.98 million today to 2.1 million by 2030. With 33,700 units in the pipeline between now and 2030, Sharjah’s residential market is entering a period of significant supply growth, with the quality and scale of incoming product shifting buyer expectations upward,” Ali Siddiqui, Research Manager at Cavendish Maxwell said in a statement.
The rental market also expanded. Nearly 290,000 residential rental transactions were recorded in 2025, up from 278,000 in 2024. Families accounted for 86 per cent of rental contracts. Total rental activity, including commercial, topped 368,500, a 4.4 per cent annual rise.
Sharjah’s rents run 20 per cent to 30 per cent below Dubai’s, according to Cavendish Maxwell, making it a draw for cost-conscious residents who commute to Dubai for work. Expatriates make up over 85 per cent of the emirate’s population.
Freehold reforms introduced in 2022 have widened the buyer pool considerably, with buyers from almost 130 nationalities purchasing property in Sharjah last year. UAE nationals remained the largest buyer group, followed by Arab nationals and other nationalities.
On the supply side, around 2,600 new residential units were delivered in 2025, with apartments making up 81 per cent of that figure. A further 1,100 apartments came to market in Q1 2026.
Cavendish Maxwell counts 33,700 additional units in the pipeline through to 2030, split between 24,800 apartments and 9,900 villas and townhouses. Key developers in that pipeline include ARADA, Alef Group, BEEAH Group, Shurooq, and Eagle Hills.
“With 33,700 units in the pipeline between now and 2030, Sharjah’s residential market is entering a period of significant supply growth, with the quality and scale of incoming product shifting buyer expectations upward,” Siddiqui said.
Infrastructure is also expanding. The AED40 billion Etihad Rail network links Sharjah with other emirates, while the E611 widening project is expected to cut peak-hour travel times to Dubai by 45 per cent. A AED2.4 billion expansion at Sharjah Airport is targeting 20 million annual passengers by 2027. The airport handled 19.5 million passengers in 2025, up 14 per cent year-on-year.
Hospitality is growing alongside property. Hotel guest arrivals surged 22 per cent to reach 2.1 million, with revenues hitting AED780 million, up 20 per cent annually. The market is running at 78 per cent occupancy with an average daily rate of AED305. Sharjah currently has 10,700 keys across 102 hotels, mostly mid-tier, though three luxury and upscale properties totalling 476 keys are planned before 2030.
