Sales of residential units above $10 million in Dubai reached an all-time high of AED 9.54 billion (US$2.6 billion) in the second quarter of 2025. This record performance, revealed by the latest research from global real estate consultancy Knight Frank, is 37% ahead of the $1.9 billion recorded in the first quarter and a staggering 63% increase over the second quarter of 2024.
The total number of property sales above $10 million during the second quarter reached 143 transactions, a 52% increase over the same period in 2024, including 22 transactions worth over $25 million. Notably, for the first time since the second quarter of 2023, apartment sales outperformed villa sales in the $10 million-plus apartment segment, with 80 apartments sold compared to 63 villas.
Palm Jumeirah
Palm Jumeirah was the preferred destination for property sales over $10 million, with 28 properties sold, while La Mer (23) and Downtown Dubai (16) were the city’s three busiest markets for $10 million. Knight Frank’s Prime Dubai Index, which tracks values across ten prime residential communities, averaged AED 3,850 per square foot in Q2 2024—18% higher than Q2 2024 (AED 3,272 per square foot) but virtually unchanged from Q1 2025. This suggests that higher sales volumes and healthy market activity, as opposed to cost inflation, are behind the growth in total sales value.
Luxury Price Segment
Faisal Durrani, Partner and Head of Research for the MENA region, said: “The record sales in the luxury price segment are in line with the findings of our recent Destination Dubai report, which highlights the continued and growing demand among high-net-worth individuals globally and locally for homes in the emirate.”
He added: “The total value of all homes sold in Dubai has increased by an astonishing 282% since 2020, and in 2024, Dubai was once again the world’s most active market for homes above $10 million, recording 435 sales in this exclusive price category, almost equal to the number of $10 million+ home sales in London and New York combined. The city maintained this position during the first quarter of 2025 as well. Separately, Dubai’s residential property market continues to grow, as evidenced by the rise in the number of genuine end-users and the decline in the number of homes sold within 12 months of purchase, from around 25% in 2008 to 4-5% today.
The Accidental Rich
Knight Frank’s research, which tracks the price of each freehold home in the city, also revealed a rise in the number of “real estate millionaires” across Dubai. At the beginning of the second quarter of 2025, there were 110,000 residential units (out of a total of 624,000 units sold since 2002) valued at over $1 million, equivalent to 17.7% of the total number of homes sold in the city. The total value of these homes is estimated at approximately AED 994 billion, or $271 billion. Around 19% of these $1 million homes (21,000 units) are rented, indicating the size of Dubai’s luxury buy-to-let market. However, there are 37,000 units owned by the “accidentally wealthy”—buyers who purchased properties for less than $1 million and are now worth more, simply due to rising prices.
Strong Confidence in the Emirate’s Real Estate
Shahzad Jamal, Partner at Strategy & Advisory MENA, said: “The number of ‘accidentally wealthy’ in Dubai has increased by 79.5% over the past three years. This indicates that most homes are being held as primary residences, second homes, or long-term investments for capital gains, reflecting strong confidence in Dubai’s residential real estate market among the wealthy. This also reflects our own market experience, where we found that the strongest level of demand for purchasing a home as a primary end-user is among ultra-high-net-worth individuals.” Palm Jumeirah has the highest concentration of homes valued at over $1 million in Dubai—9,071 at the beginning of the second quarter of 2025, followed by Downtown Dubai (8,376) and Dubai Hills Estate (6,138). The city’s top ten communities collectively account for nearly 47,000 such homes—nearly 50% of Dubai’s millionaire homes.
Supply Gap
Dubai’s growing popularity as a place to live opens up more opportunities for investors and developers looking to address supply gaps. The mismatch between supply and demand is evident in the fact that the city welcomed nearly 170,000 new residents last year, while total housing stock increased by just over 30,000 units.
350,000 Homes to Hit the Market by 2029
Durrani said: “Our team is currently tracking over 350,000 homes scheduled for completion by the end of 2029. Certain price ranges and home sizes appear to be particularly vulnerable. For example, the number of homes available for sale in the $10 million and above category fell by 39% last year, from 4,119 to 2,493. Meanwhile, the number of homes available in the $25 million and above category more than doubled (85%), falling from 583 to just 86 properties. There appears to be some rebalancing this year, with the more mainstream end of the market seeing a sharper decline in homes available for purchase.