Wealthy buyers from around the world continued to snap up Dubai luxury homes during the third quarter, according to researcher Knight Frank, although sales volumes declined about 17% from last year as the Iran war dragged on.
Dubai recorded 86 sales of homes priced at $10 million or more during the quarter, down from 103 in the same period last year. Luxury property sales hit a record in Dubai in 2025. Despite the pullback, the numbers illustrate the relative resilience of property demand in a city that faced a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones earlier this year. While most projectiles were intercepted, sectors like tourism, aviation and trade have come under pressure.
House prices have also dropped marginally, with the property firm JLL estimating values have fallen about 5% on average, with some prime neighborhoods recording bigger declines. Between January and September, Dubai recorded 412 home transactions valued above $10 million, close to the record 500 sales for all of last year. In the third quarter, 13 properties sold for at least $25 million, with a total value of about $500 million. The Palm Jumeirah island and Emirates Hills accounted for most sales. Knight Frank estimates Palm Jumeirah prices dropped 9% over the past 12 months, with the island offering "good value" at 4,083 dirhams ($1,112) per square foot.
Faisal Durrani, head of research for Middle East and North Africa at Knight Frank, said Dubai's luxury market "has continued to record high volumes of sales during the third quarter, albeit these are lower than this time last year." He described the "stop-start" nature of hostilities as a confidence dampener, adding that the ongoing regional conflict is the biggest drag on market activity. The slowdown follows a record-setting 2025 and ends one of Dubai's longest property booms, which began during the pandemic in 2020.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing