A sharp rise in demand for high-end, spacious properties is reshaping Dubai’s luxury real estate market, as global investors prioritise stability, strategic growth and long-term value over short-term speculation. While global markets grapple with uncertainty, Dubai’s ultra-prime segment continues to attract confident capital.
This trend is fuelled by a major influx in wealthy individuals seeking to invest in the city. UBS data from their Global Wealth Report 2025 reveals that in 2024, the UAE saw the second-highest global increase in millionaires, a 5.8 percent rise that added 13,000 new millionaires in just one year.
According to Henley & Partners’ Private Wealth Migration Report 2025, that trajectory is only accelerating. A record 142,000 millionaires are expected to relocate globally this year, and the UAE is set to attract the largest net inflow, an estimated 9,800 high-net-worth individuals. That’s more than any other country worldwide.
AED10 million+ transactions rise 93 percent between January and May
A haus & haus analysis of Dubai Land Department (DLD) real estate transactions shows a 93 percent increase year-on-year in transactions above AED10 million between January and May 2025. This trend isn’t anecdotal; it’s measurable. The number of AED10 million+ property transactions nearly doubled, up 93.2 percent from 1,607 in 2024 to 3,105 in 2025.
High-end transactions priced at AED3,000–3,500/sq. ft rose by 19.9 percent, while ultra-prime sales over AED3,500/sq. ft more than doubled, up 119.1 percent. The report also revealed that large-format homes are surging, with transactions for properties over 1,500 sq. ft up 47.9 percent annually.
UBS’s Global Wealth Report 2025 reinforces this trend, highlighting Dubai and the wider UAE as top-performing regions in millionaire expansion. The report also confirms the growing power of the EMILLIs (Everyday Millionaires), with over 52 million individuals globally holding USD 1–5 million in wealth. These investors are increasingly value-driven, strategic and focused on real estate as a legacy asset.
UBS calls Dubai one of the world’s “most dynamic and resilient luxury markets”, with prices still comparatively low versus global peers. The report notes that Dubai’s real estate remains undervalued relative to London, New York and Singapore.
Read: Why the UAE’s real estate market is becoming a global wealth magnet
H1 2025’s record-breaking growth
The Dubai real estate market has continued on its record-breaking path, with the first half of 2025 reaching new highs of 98,603 property sales worth AED326.7 billion ($88.95 billion). According to data from fäm Properties, H1 sales value rose 40 percent year-on-year, driven by the strongest-ever quarterly performance of 53,118 transactions worth AED184 billion in Q2.
The report revealed that Q2 sales value was 25 percent higher than the previous peak of AED147.2 billion set in Q4 2024 and transaction volume rose 5.39 percent above the earlier high of 50,400 deals recorded in Q3 last year.
Rising property values across Dubai’s real estate market in recent years were highlighted by a median price of AED1,607 per sq ft, compared with the Q2 rates of AED958 in 2021, AED1,151 in 2022, AED1,339 in 2023 and AED1,514 last year.
With properties worth AED1-2 million accounting for 32 percent of sales, 26 percent were below AED1 million, 17 percent were between AED2-3 million, 13 percent were between AED3-5 million, and 12 percent were more than AED5 million.
As global capital continues to reposition itself, Dubai’s appeal shows no signs of slowing. Whether driven by policy shifts in the U.K., fiscal uncertainty in the U.S. or demand for geopolitical stability, wealthy investors are placing strategic bets and Dubai’s high-end real estate remains firmly on their radar.
