Dubai property prices rose 28.5% in July compared to 2023, according to a report by Mansion Global, as home sales in Dubai continued at a phenomenal pace supported by strong demand, with the emirate selling a record 10,000 off-plan homes in July. According to a report issued by ValuStrat, off-plan home sales outpaced ready homes in Dubai by a ratio of 2 to 1, while prices continued to rise.
The report indicated that “home prices rose 28.5% in July compared to the previous year, with villas recording a 23.5% increase, and apartments 33.4%, and home prices have now surpassed Dubai’s previous peak in 2014, which recorded 175.5 on the ValuStrat Price Index, with the baseline set at 100 at its lowest point in January 2021.”
Palm Jumeirah and Jumeirah Islands tied for the highest annual growth in villa prices, up 43% since July, followed by Dubai Hills Estates at 38%, all of which have seen prices double since 2020, while villas in general have surpassed their previous peak in Dubai. Palm Jumeirah also outperformed the average apartment price growth, with a 30.8% increase, but Discovery Gardens saw the highest increase at 34.6%, followed by Greens at 34.1%.
According to the report, the huge growth was driven by a virtual “tsunami” of off-plan home sales, with July recording a record 10,022 pre-development contracts, or 68.5% of total transactions, and a 60% increase from 2023. In contrast, ready home sales saw a 27% year-on-year growth. The neighbourhoods that saw the highest number of off-plan sales were Dubai Hills Estates, Jumeirah Village Circle and Business Bay, with Palm Jumeirah seeing a record number of off-plan villa deals.
According to the report, about 20% of all contracts were with Emaar Properties, the company behind the Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Hills Estates, Dubai Marina, Emirates Living and many others.
After Emaar, the leading companies in primary market sales were Damac Properties, Dubai Properties and Nakheel, with between 5% and 7% of the market share.
Although house prices in Dubai have generally recovered to levels last seen a decade ago – largely due to rising villa prices, which have far exceeded their 2014 peak – apartments have not recovered their previous values, according to the index, making them more attractive to investors.