UAE Real Estate in 2026: Dubai Home Sales Slow as Abu Dhabi Deal Values Rise

The UAE’s two biggest property markets entered 2026 after a year of strong growth. By the third quarter, they were moving at different speeds. Dubai home sales fell 38% from a year earlier as the war involving Iran weighed on buyer confidence. Abu Dhabi also recorded fewer residential sales in the quarter, but the total value of those sales rose.

Dubai cools after a record year

Dubai recorded AED 917 billion in real estate transactions in 2025, up from AED 761 billion in 2024, according to the emirate’s government. The slowdown in 2026 was particularly visible in the residential market. From July to September, the value of home sales fell 47% year on year to AED 72.6 billion, according to property consultancy Cavendish Maxwell. The annual figures cover the broader real estate market, while the quarterly figures track home sales.

The slowdown was uneven. ValuStrat found that sales of off-plan homes, which are sold before construction is complete, fell 10.1% from the previous quarter, while resales rose 18.5%. Resales were still below the same quarter in 2025. Savills pointed to fewer off-plan launches and a shift in the mix of homes sold, while finding that prices for comparable properties remained relatively stable.

Abu Dhabi records fewer deals at a higher total value

Abu Dhabi’s real estate transactions reached AED 142 billion in 2025, up from AED 97 billion in 2024, according to the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre. An analysis of the centre’s registry data by XIS Real Estate found that residential sales fell 7% year on year in the third quarter of 2026, while their combined value rose 29% to AED 29.1 billion. Off-plan properties accounted for 77% of registered residential sales in that analysis.

Regional conflict added to buyer caution, but the figures also show how much local market conditions mattered. In Dubai, fewer new launches coincided with a quarterly pickup in resales. In Abu Dhabi, off-plan projects continued to account for most residential deals even as the number of sales eased.