Dubai luxury home sales: 86 deals over $10 million in Q3 2026

A total of 86 residential property deals worth at least $10 million were completed in Dubai during the third quarter of 2026, with 13 of those exceeding $25 million, according to Knight Frank, the international property consultancy.

The transactions from July to September were worth Dh5.77 billion ($1.57 billion). This pushed the year-to-date tally of such deals to 412, compared with 357 in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a total value of approximately $6.67 billion.

The number of transactions in the three months to September was 34 percent less than the 131 recorded in the second quarter and also fell short of the 103 deals seen in the third quarter of 2025.

According to Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research, Mena, at Knight Frank, the luxury segment has sustained elevated transaction levels “despite the exceptional geopolitical backdrop across the region”, even though volumes are down from a year earlier. He added: “The biggest drag at the moment on overall market activity is the ongoing regional conflict. The somewhat ‘stop-start’ nature of the hostilities is predictably a confidence dampener.”

Durrani also noted that prices in Dubai’s ten prime residential areas dropped 5 percent from the second to the third quarter, marking the first such decrease since 2020. Overall prime transaction volumes were 29.4 percent below the level of a year earlier.

Palm Jumeirah leads luxury sales

Palm Jumeirah emerged as the top location for luxury deals in the third quarter, recording 27 sales worth Dh2.01 billion ($546.7 million). This accounted for roughly 31 percent of all $10 million-plus transactions and 35 percent of their combined value. The biggest single sale of the quarter, valued at Dh260 million, also took place on the island.

Louis Harding, partner and head of UAE Residential at Knight Frank, pointed out that prices on Palm Jumeirah have declined 9.1 percent over the past year, making the island “increasingly offering ‘good value’” at AED4,083 per square foot. He said buyers are primarily looking for permanent residences or holiday homes rather than speculating on flips, and noted that overall sales volumes are 37 percent lower than last summer. Harding added that a sequential drop from the second quarter is typical during the summer slowdown.

Jumeirah Second came next with 10 sales valued at Dh594.9 million ($162.0 million). Emirates Hills followed with seven transactions worth Dh542.5 million ($147.7 million). Dubai Hills Estate and Jumeirah Golf Estates each posted six sales, amounting to Dh574.9 million ($156.6 million) and Dh330.1 million ($89.9 million) respectively. Villas made up the majority of deals, representing 55 of the 86 transactions, or roughly 64 percent.

Ultra-prime deals drive value

Of the 86 transactions, 73 were in the $10 million-to-$25 million range, with a combined value of Dh3.93 billion ($1.07 billion). The remaining 13 sales, each above $25 million, totalled Dh1.84 billion ($499.7 million). These ultra-prime deals constituted about 15 percent of the total number of $10 million-plus sales but nearly 32 percent of their total value. Palm Jumeirah accounted for five of the 13, or roughly 38.5 percent, while Dubai Hills Estate and Emirates Hills each contributed two.

July was the busiest month, with 36 deals valued at Dh2.04 billion ($555.5 million). August saw 32 transactions worth Dh2.08 billion ($566.0 million), the highest monthly total by value in the quarter. September had 18 sales worth Dh1.65 billion ($449.0 million). Although monthly volumes declined, the value of transactions above $25 million increased steadily, from Dh376.1 million in July to Dh609.8 million in August and then to Dh849.5 million in September, when they represented about 52 percent of that month’s sales value.