Following the end of the Eid Al Fitr holiday, transaction volumes in Dubai’s real estate market increased by 49% last week, demonstrating the sector’s typical resilience.
According to data from the Dubai Land Department (DLD), total ex-land transactions increased from Dhs5.82 billion in the previous shortened working week to Dhs8.66 billion ($2.36 billion) last week. This is especially for March 23–29, 2026.
The dramatic comeback implies that the previous week’s subdued performance was not a cooling of underlying investor interest, but rather a brief calendar-driven slump. The market is still highly skewed toward primary off-plan sales and apartment-led volume, which is consistent with a larger pattern observed throughout 2026.
Primary market dominance
With Dhs6.74 billion in revenue and 77.8% of the overall weekly value, the off-plan segment remains the market’s main driver. Apartments continued to be the most popular asset class in this category, accounting for Dhs5.46 billion, or 81% of off-plan value. Commercial assets accounted for 7.3%, while villas came in second with a smaller share of 11.3% (Dhs763.2m).
On the other hand, according to DLD data, transactions in the secondary or “ready” market totaled Dhs1.92 billion. Despite having a lower overall volume, the ready category continues to be the mainstay of the city’s well-known residential centers, which are headed by Business Bay and Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC).
Financing profiles: Strategic divergence
The market’s finance structure is still divided along conventional lines. With 97.9% of transactions being direct sales, the off-plan industry is still predominantly cash-driven.
Since buyers usually choose developer-led payment plans over conventional bank financing for unfinished properties, mortgages made up a negligible 1.3% of off-plan activity.
With mortgages making up 38.3% of transactions (Dhs734.8m), the secondary (ready) market exhibits a greater dependence on the banking industry. This distinction highlights the different characteristics of the two segments: the ready market acts as the major entry point for end users and locals accessing local liquidity, while the primary market continues to draw in foreign capital and investors looking for capital appreciation.
Geographic highlights and trophy deals
Emerging waterfront developments and high-liquidity master-planned districts continue to attract the majority of investor interest.
With Dhs591.4 million in transactions, Jumeirah Second became the off-plan segment’s value leader for the week. This was supported by the most notable transaction of the week, which was the selling of an off-plan apartment for Dhs356.2 million. Al Yelayiss 1 (Dhs566.1m) and Madinat Al Mataar (Dhs555.4m) were two more top-performing primary locations.
Business Bay continued to be the most liquid neighborhood in the secondary market, followed by the Burj Khalifa area and Jumeirah Village Circle. An apartment in Business Bay cleared for Dhs34.1 million, the highest-value resale, while a ready-to-buy home in Jumeirah Park sold for Dhs11.5 million.
News Source: https://gulfbusiness.com/en/2026/real-estate/dubai-property-transactions-up-49-regional-tensions/
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