Dubai’s real estate market is witnessing a continued pace of new project launches during the first quarter of 2025, with more than 60 new projects adding more than 14,000 new units to the market, according to indicators tracking the emirate’s real estate market.
Market data also indicates that there are more than 250 additional projects currently planned for launch by real estate companies active in the Dubai market during the next phase. This demonstrates that the emirate’s local sector is making strong strides towards new horizons of growth and sustainable development and will remain at high levels throughout the current year.
The data indicated that the number of new real estate projects launched in 2024 grew by 43% year-on-year, to more than 350 new real estate projects. This growth was accompanied by a rise in the number of developers entering the Dubai real estate market by more than 45%, with more than 400 new developers entering the sector, which explains the high pace of offerings.
It is worth noting that the Dubai real estate market witnessed a 22.7% year-on-year increase in the number of sales transactions during the first quarter of this year, reaching 44,900 transactions, compared to 36,600 transactions in 2024, renewing confidence in the city’s real estate investment environment.
Price Curve
A recent study indicated that real estate prices in January saw a slight decline of 0.57% compared to December 2024. This is the first decline in real estate prices in Dubai since the summer of 2022, when prices fell by a similar 0.58% in July. However, prices remained more than 20% higher than the market peak in September 2014, and prices rose again in February and March by more than 2%.
New Investment Areas
Ismail Al Hammadi, Founder and CEO of Al Rowad Real Estate, said: “The growth and activity witnessed by the real estate sector in Dubai will support the anticipated expansion plans of development companies to keep pace with the expansion of new investment areas in the emirate. These include Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Islands, and Hamriya Port, which is currently undergoing intensive development work in preparation for a new wave of waterfront real estate projects. These areas also include Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Jaddaf. This development is supported by the Dubai government’s decision to allow the conversion of property ownership to freehold ownership, and the initiative to subdivide property units in older local areas. This initiative is expected to transform the landscape of these areas as owners begin to take advantage of these areas for investment purposes.”
Based on these trends, it can be said that “expectations regarding continued high-level real estate project launches, similar to last year’s, are very logical and appropriate. Based on data from the first three months of 2025, Dubai real estate prices will be moderate, concluding another record-breaking year of achievement.”
A Fourth Year of Growth
The founder and chairman of Al Rowad Real Estate indicated that Dubai real estate is currently entering its fourth year of sustained price growth. With a mixed average monthly and annual growth rate exceeding 16% through 2024, this is a clear indication that the market is maintaining its resilience, even as it faces further economic and political challenges globally and regionally. Demand will remain strong, but there may be some slight price declines.
This is expected to be accompanied by the generosity of some development companies, who will offer exclusive offers on a specific group of projects to attract further demand. This is a way to maintain market momentum, enhance investor confidence, and provide a solution to overcome competition among the large number of developers currently active in Dubai. This number is expected to increase with the arrival of another group in the future. Ismail Al Hammadi said: “Market prices will continue to maintain their high levels compared to the years prior to 2022, which provides a greater opportunity for investors to continue reaping profits and high investment returns from the market. This opportunity, in turn, encourages developers to pump more new projects, ignoring negative opinions that indicate a slowdown in market growth this year.
This is especially true since last year was ranked as one of the most active real estate years ever in the history of launching new projects in the market, as the number of real estate units offered exceeded 145,000 units, compared to 96,000 units in 2023, and 53,000 units in 2022.”