Where the Volume Actually Is
Ten areas account for most of Dubai's recorded sales. Transaction activity is far more concentrated than the map suggests.
Ten areas account for 44% of every recorded sale in Dubai. Transaction volume is far more concentrated than the map suggests.
Madinat Al Mataar alone recorded 9,352 sales — more than the bottom third of published areas combined.
Volume and price rarely coincide
The busiest areas are seldom the most expensive. Where the two diverge is usually where new supply is arriving: high volume at moderate prices generally means a district being built out rather than one being traded.
| Area | Sales | AED / sqft | Off-plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madinat Al Mataar | 9,352 | 1,682 | 99% |
| JUMEIRAH VILLAGE CIRCLE | 6,212 | 1,476 | 59% |
| DUBAI LAND RESIDENCE COMPLEX | 4,188 | 1,435 | 92% |
| BUSINESS BAY | 4,108 | 2,534 | 54% |
| MAJAN | 3,312 | 1,452 | 83% |
| Al Yelayiss 1 | 3,252 | 1,822 | 100% |
| Palm Deira | 3,231 | 2,876 | 100% |
| ARJAN | 2,150 | 1,605 | 64% |
| Jabal Ali First | 1,956 | 1,645 | 98% |
| DUBAI PRODUCTION CITY | 1,913 | 1,338 | 78% |
Why liquidity matters
A liquid area gives you comparables when buying and buyers when selling. A thin one can leave you holding an asset that is difficult to price and slow to exit, however good the property itself.
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