What Dubai Actually Buys
The transaction market is dominated by smaller units — with consequences for anyone buying to let.
Across 91,909 recorded sales, Dubai's transaction market is dominated by smaller units — a fact with consequences for anyone buying to let.
| Unit type | Sales | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 B/R | 31,938 | 37% |
| Studio | 24,347 | 28% |
| 2 B/R | 18,120 | 21% |
| 3 B/R | 5,907 | 7% |
| 4 B/R | 4,289 | 5% |
| 5 B/R | 1,414 | 2% |
| Office | 912 | 1% |
| Shop | 121 | 0% |
What the mix implies
A market weighted toward studios and one-bedrooms is a market weighted toward tenants and investors rather than families buying to stay. That shapes turnover, tenancy length and the kind of demand a building sees.
Check it per area
The citywide mix hides enormous variation. Some areas transact almost entirely in studios; others barely sell them at all. The unit-size breakdown on each area page is the number that matters for a specific purchase.
More in Market analysis
Seven months of official transactions, read area by area — which parts of the city carry the premium, which carry the volume, and what the spread between them shows.
ReadMost Dubai sales in the period were off-plan, but the split varies enormously by area — from near-total in new districts to barely half in the established ones.
ReadBetween the most and least expensive areas sits a gap wide enough that a citywide average describes almost nobody.
Read