The shift in Dubai’s market pricing has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the number of luxury property transactions (those valued at over $10 million). The emirate has topped Knight Frank’s ranking of the deepest luxury markets for two years running, with 388 sales at this level recorded in the 12 months to September 2024, compared to New York in second place with 230.
The global luxury market saw $32.6 billion spent on homes worth over $10 million across the world’s 12 major residential markets in 2024. Dubai alone accounted for $6.5 billion of sales, or 20%. While this is down from $34.2 billion in 2023, it is still significantly higher than the pre-Covid total of $18.8 billion.
Price Index
Dubai ranked third in the main international residential property index for the best markets in terms of price growth last year, according to the “Wealth Report 2025” issued by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
Dubai achieved a growth of 16.9% in its property prices until the end of the third quarter, and is on track to reach 20% for the full year. Seoul topped the list with 18.4%, and Manila came in second with 17.9%. Riyadh came in fourth with 16% growth, and Tokyo fifth with 12.1%.
The report stated that over the past five years, the luxury real estate market has undergone a remarkable transformation, with a number of markets experiencing a significant upward re-pricing process, during which Dubai topped the list with a rise of 147% compared to the end of 2019.
Manila recorded strong and consistent growth during the same period with an increase of 87%. However, the United States was the most prominent performing market during this period. Palm Beach grew 117%, Miami 84% and Aspen 73%, as the strength of the US economy and investment markets led to significant price increases.
According to Knight Frank, a $1 million investment in luxury residential property in January 2020 would have grown to $2.7 million in Dubai, up 63%, and $1.9 million in Miami (+47%) by 2025.
High net worth individuals
According to Knight Frank’s wealth measurement model, the global population of high net worth individuals (those with assets of more than $10 million) grew by 4.4% to more than 2.3 million people, with the United States dominating the world’s billionaire population in 2024, with a combined wealth of $5.7 trillion, followed by China with $1.34 trillion in billionaire wealth, and India third with $0.95 trillion. The number of ultra-high net worth individuals, with assets exceeding $100 million, reached 104,000 people worldwide. Men accounted for 87% of the billionaires, with a total wealth of $12.4 trillion. Women, meanwhile, made up just 13% of the list with $1.78 trillion, led by the world’s richest woman, L’Oréal heiress Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, with a fortune of nearly $99.5 billion.