A report by BetterHomes, an international proptech and real estate agency, reported that Dubai has registered its highest yearly residential sales ever in 2025, with the total sales amounting to AED547 billion ($149 billion), a 28 percent increase year on year, in 203,000 sales, and volume increased by 20 percent.
The liquidity was still concentrated in investable stock. Studio and one-to two-bedroom apartments constituted 77 percent of transactions, and 72 percent of transactions fell within the AED 500,000-AED 3 million segment, which supports market depth and resale speed.
The residential market of Dubai is expected to be closed by the year 2025 in the background of fast-growing economic growth and a low inflation rate, and it has provided a stable base on which real estate activities will be conducted, claimed the company in the Full-Year Dubai Residential Market Report of 2025.
UAE real GDP growth was 3.9 percent year-on-year in Q1 and 4.5 percent in Q2; the growth projections exceeded 5 percent in 2026, while inflation remained contained at 1.3 percent in 2025.
CEO of Betterhomes, Louis Harding, said, “What defines 2025 is the quality of growth rather than just the pace. Economic expansion, low inflation, and population growth are reinforcing each other, creating a more durable foundation for real estate activity.”
Harding stated, “This was not a narrow or speculative cycle. Liquidity was broad, repeatable, and focused on segments where both end-users and investors continue to transact with confidence.”
The year was characterized by off-plan activity that contributed to 65 percent of total transactions and 53 percent of total value, and is mainly a result of apartments. Apartment sales recorded AED 325 billion (+29 percent YoY), while villas and townhouses contributed AED 221 billion (+26 percent YoY).
Although the supply pipeline is increasing at a rapid pace, average sale prices increased by 12 per cent per annum to AED 1,673 per sq ft, showing that the market is capable of absorbing new supply without an attendant reduction in prices.
However, the report said that transaction activity has expanded both in sales and leasing, with mortgages climbing to 52 percent. Leasing activity increased evidently in 2025, with betterhomes leasing transactions surging over 60 percent year-on-year, backed by robust family-led demand. Despite higher volumes, rents held firm at an average of AED 207,000 per year.
Director of Leasing at Betterhomes, Rupert Simmonds, added, “Leasing momentum in 2025 came from people moving forward, not prices running ahead. Stable rents alongside higher transaction volumes reflect a market driven by families and long-term tenants making deliberate housing decisions.”
Therefore, the buyer demand also improved with a 33 percent year-on-year growth, with the mortgages taking 52 percent of the transactions as compared to cash. Investors have been the largest buyers, at 57 percent of purchases in a fourth consecutive year.
India and the UK were still in the top position of buyer nationalities, whereas the luxury segment of Dubai further sharpened, with the average prime selling price increasing by 26 percent year-on-year to AED 30 million.
On their 2026 projection, Betterhomes reported that in 2025, the performance of Dubai residential markets suggests an industry with structural underpinnings and not overcapacity.
TradeArabia News Service reported that, as the speed of economic growth increases, the population rises, and the prices remain unchanged despite the rise in supply, the sector enters 2026 in a state of widespread demand, robust liquidity, and structural stability.
