Quick answer: over the 12 months to October 2026, registered apartment sales in Dubai’s busiest areas ranged from about AED 1,200 per sq ft in Dubai Silicon Oasis to about AED 3,400 per sq ft on Palm Jumeirah, with gross rental yields from roughly 4% in prime areas (Palm Jumeirah, Downtown) to 7–8% in mid-market communities (Dubai South, JVC, Dubai Silicon Oasis). The table below is built from Dubai Land Department (DLD) registered transactions, not asking prices, and is updated monthly.
Most “Dubai property prices” figures you will find online are asking prices on listing portals, which tell you what sellers hope for. This page uses registered transactions — what buyers actually paid, as recorded at the DLD — and compares them with registered rents to give a gross yield. It also translates the DLD’s official area names (such as Marsa Dubai or Al Thanyah Fifth) into the community names buyers search for, which is where most international buyers get lost when they try to read Dubai market data themselves.
Dubai apartment prices and rental yields by area (12 months to October 2026)
| Area (DLD name) | Median price per sq ft (AED) | Change vs a year earlier | Gross rental yield | Sales in 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Jumeirah | 3,408 | +15.1% | 4.3% | 1,150 |
| Za’abeel 2 (Zaabeel Second) | 3,149 | +10.7% | 5.3% | 764 |
| Dubai Maritime City and Mina Rashid (Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah) | 3,125 | +7.3% | 3.3% | 3,394 |
| Downtown Dubai | 2,989 | +4.1% | 4.7% | 2,644 |
| Madinat Jumeirah Living area (Um Suqaim Third) | 2,865 | +4.2% | 4.9% | 282 |
| Dubai Islands | 2,778 | +18.6% | 7.7%* | 4,631 |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 2,564 | +6.3% | 5.1% | 3,980 |
| Business Bay | 2,437 | +0.4% | 6.5% | 6,094 |
| Dubai Marina and Dubai Harbour (Marsa Dubai) | 2,423 | −9.3% | 5.1% | 3,694 |
| Dubai Hills Estate (Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid) | 2,387 | −0.3% | 5.7% | 2,353 |
| Jumeirah Lake Towers (Al Thanyah Fifth) | 2,245 | +7.5% | 5.2% | 2,711 |
| Al Jaddaf | 2,025 | +13.2% | 5.6% | 2,548 |
| Dubai South | 1,664 | +0.8% | 8.2% | 15,010 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle (Al Barsha South Fourth) | 1,473 | +2.7% | 6.9% | 11,081 |
| Dubai Silicon Oasis (Nadd Hessa) | 1,211 | −17.6% | 7.6% | 1,796 |
Source: Dubai Land Department registered sales and rental contracts, apartments only, 12-month window to October 2026, read via Homesae’s DLD market-data feed on 30 October 2026. Price per sq ft is the median of registered sales; gross yield compares registered annual rents with registered sale prices and is before service charges, vacancy and fees. *Dubai Islands is still being delivered, so its yield rests on a small number of rental contracts and is less reliable than the others.
What the data shows
1. The price ladder is wider than most buyers expect
A square foot on Palm Jumeirah costs almost three times what it costs in Dubai Silicon Oasis or Jumeirah Village Circle. That gap matters more than any city-wide average: “Dubai prices rose X%” describes no apartment you can actually buy. Compare the specific community — and ideally the specific building and bedroom count, as we do for every project on Homesae.
2. Yields fall as prices rise
The highest gross yields sit in the mid-market — Dubai South (8.2%), Dubai Silicon Oasis (7.6%) and JVC (6.9%) — where rents are high relative to entry prices. Prime areas yield less: Palm Jumeirah 4.3%, Downtown 4.7%, Dubai Maritime City 3.3%. Buyers in prime areas are paying for scarcity and long-term value as much as for rental income, so a lower yield there is normal, not a warning sign.
3. Price growth was concentrated, not city-wide
Dubai Islands (+18.6%), Palm Jumeirah (+15.1%), Al Jaddaf (+13.2%) and Za’abeel 2 (+10.7%) led registered price growth. Business Bay (+0.4%), Dubai South (+0.8%) and Dubai Hills Estate (−0.3%) were broadly flat, and two established areas fell: Dubai Marina and Dubai Harbour (−9.3%) and Dubai Silicon Oasis (−17.6%). Part of these moves reflects the mix of what sold — a year with more new, premium towers handing over pushes a median up — so read them alongside the transaction counts.
4. Where the volume is
Dubai South (15,010 registered apartment sales) and Jumeirah Village Circle (11,081) were the busiest apartment markets by far, followed by Business Bay (6,094) and Dubai Islands (4,631). High volume makes medians reliable and resale easier; very low volume (such as the Madinat Jumeirah Living area, 282 sales) means a single tower can move the figures.
Building-level data: see Dubai Marina 2-bedroom prices by building – registered DLD sale prices and rents for the 25 busiest towers.
Villa communities: price per sq ft and change
Villa data is thinner, because far fewer villas trade. Over the same 12 months the clearest readings were: Dubai Hills Estate villas at about AED 2,911 per sq ft (−3.3%, gross yield 3.2%), Palm Jebel Ali at about AED 3,453 per sq ft (+31.3%, a new island with no rental history yet) and Dubai South villas at about AED 1,276 per sq ft (−3.4%, yield 4.3%). Villa yields are typically 3–5% gross, below apartments, because villa rents rise more slowly than villa prices.
Villa detail: see Dubai Hills Estate villa prices by community and bedroom.
How to read Dubai’s official area names
DLD records use official land-registry names that rarely match the community names in adverts. The most common ones international buyers meet:
- Marsa Dubai — Dubai Marina, Dubai Harbour and JBR
- Al Barsha South Fourth — Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC)
- Al Thanyah Fifth — Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT)
- Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid — Dubai Hills Estate
- Madinat Dubai Almelaheyah — Dubai Maritime City and Mina Rashid
- Nadd Hessa — Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Zaabeel Second — Za’abeel 2, between Downtown and DIFC
- Um Suqaim Third — the Madinat Jumeirah Living area
If you check transactions yourself through the DLD’s channels, search under these names, not the marketing name.
How to use these numbers when buying
- Value a specific home, not an area. Area medians mix studios with penthouses. Ask for registered sales in the same building and bedroom count over the last 12 months — our guide to genuine below-market deals explains the method.
- Turn gross yield into net. Deduct service charges (set per building and published in the DLD service-charge index), vacancy and letting costs. See the full cost of buying in Dubai and our landlord’s guide to Ejari.
- For off-plan, compare with the area’s resale price. A launch price far above the area’s registered median needs a reason — brand, location within the community or specification. Our project pages show DLD sale and rent data for each tower where it exists.
- Buying from abroad? Start with buying from the UK, mortgages for non-residents and the best areas to invest.
Methodology
Figures are medians of Dubai Land Department registered apartment (and, in the villa section, villa) sales over the 12 months to October 2026, with the year-on-year change in median price per square foot. Gross rental yield compares registered annual rents with registered sale prices for the same area and category. Areas with too few transactions for reliable medians are excluded, and we only list areas whose official DLD name we can match to a community name with confidence. Data is read from Homesae’s DLD market-data feed and refreshed monthly; figures change as new transactions are registered. Homesae is a DLD-licensed brokerage (RERA ORN 55177).
Frequently asked questions
What is the average price per square foot in Dubai?
It depends heavily on the area. Over the 12 months to October 2026, registered apartment sales ranged from about AED 1,200 per sq ft in Dubai Silicon Oasis and AED 1,470 in JVC to about AED 3,000 in Downtown Dubai and AED 3,400 on Palm Jumeirah.
Which area in Dubai has the highest rental yield?
Among the busiest apartment markets, Dubai South had the highest gross yield at about 8.2%, followed by Dubai Silicon Oasis (7.6%) and Jumeirah Village Circle (6.9%), based on DLD registered rents and sales over the 12 months to October 2026.
What rental yield can I expect on Palm Jumeirah or in Downtown Dubai?
Gross yields on registered transactions were about 4.3% on Palm Jumeirah and 4.7% in Downtown Dubai over the 12 months to October 2026, before service charges and vacancy.
Which Dubai areas saw prices rise the most?
Among high-volume apartment areas, Dubai Islands (+18.6%), Palm Jumeirah (+15.1%), Al Jaddaf (+13.2%) and Za’abeel 2 (+10.7%) recorded the largest rises in median price per square foot over the year to October 2026.
Did any Dubai areas fall in price?
Yes. Median price per square foot for apartments fell about 9.3% in Dubai Marina and Dubai Harbour (DLD: Marsa Dubai) and about 17.6% in Dubai Silicon Oasis over the year to October 2026, while Business Bay and Dubai Hills Estate were broadly flat.
What does “Marsa Dubai” mean in DLD data?
Marsa Dubai is the official DLD area name covering Dubai Marina, Dubai Harbour and JBR. Similarly, Al Barsha South Fourth is JVC and Al Thanyah Fifth is JLT.
How often is this data updated?
Monthly. Each update uses the latest 12 months of registered transactions, so figures change as new sales and rental contracts are recorded.
