Dubai rents drop across most neighbourhoods as tenant choice rises

Property Finder reports that rents have fallen in most Dubai residential communities between the third quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026, with only Dubai Hills Estate showing no change. Published on Sunday 18 October 2026 at 3:53 PM.

Rental declines across most communities

The real estate platform tracked ten key apartment communities, nine of which saw median asking rents falling year-on-year, including Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bag, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Arjan, Dubai Creek Harbour, Mohammed Bin Rashid City, Meydan, and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Hills Estate was the only community that did not see a rise or fall in rents, staying flat for the entire duration of the period between Q3 2025 and Q3 2026, as per the data.

The largest declines were in Downtown Dubai, where asking rents fell 21.7 per cent, and Dubai Marina, down 16.1 per cent. In Downtown, rents fell across every apartment size, which Sleiman said was a genuine repricing and not just more small units entering the market.

Demand shifts toward smaller units

Strong demand for affordable homes was evident, with studios or one‑bedroom apartments attracting the largest share of enquiries in seven of the ten apartment communities. In Business Bay, one‑bedroom apartments made up 43.1 per cent of listings but drew 48.7 per cent of enquiries.

In eight of the ten villa communities, three‑ or four‑bedroom homes attracted the most enquiries.

Stabilisation signs and villa market

September shows early signs of stabilisation. The combined median apartment asking rent edged up from Dh100,000 in August to Dh105,000, and enquiries per listing improved for both apartments and villas. While one month does not make a trend, it is an encouraging sign, Sleiman said.

The combined median apartment asking rent peaked at Dh135,000 in December 2025, eased steadily through the first half of 2026 and reached Dh100,000 by June.

“In September 2026, the average number of apartments listed for rent each day on Property Finder was 55.1 per cent higher than in September 2025, while renter enquiries grew 15.4 per cent,” said Cherif Sleiman, Chief Revenue Officer of Property Finder.

On average, each apartment listing received 23 per cent fewer enquiries than a year earlier, he added.

Villas followed a similar but gentler path, with eight of the ten communities recording lower asking rents.

Al Furjan is the only community with a clear rise, at 15.15 per cent, and this is partly explained by more five‑bedroom villas coming onto the market. Rents for four‑bedroom villas, the area’s largest segment by enquiries, rose 9.4 per cent, while three of the five comparable villa types there declined.

Dubai Hills Estate looks flat overall, but five of its six comparable villa types declined or stayed flat.

“For tenants, this is a good time to compare options and negotiate. For landlords, lowering the price alone may not be enough. With this much choice in the market, the quality of a listing, how visible it is and how quickly the landlord responds now matter more than ever,” Sleiman said.