Many Dubai property investors are getting more selective about where to put their money, experts have said.
The Covid-19 pandemic instigated a boom that has eased off with buyers now thinking long-term about amenities, location and proximity to transport, they said.
The National spoke to developers, salespeople, agents and more on the sidelines of the “game-changers 2.0 real estate summit” in Dubai on Friday to gauge how the red hot market is going.
Mixed picture
Firas Al Msaddi, chief executive of Fam Properties and event organiser, said the market is at an "all-time high" with strong demand for both the resale and off-plan market.
But he said people were becoming more selective as more off-plan units came on-stream as many developers had come to the UAE on the back of the boom and not everyone was “producing the best of the best”.
“Every property buyer, every investor, and every broker are very sensitive to the overall value that product offers,” he said
“People are really … digging and understanding and learning before making a decision. Even if the market cools down a bit because of the supply, this is only temporary – it's only a matter of time for the demand to catch up.”
Mohamad Abbas, sales manager at Dubai Holding Real Estate, said he had been in the market for 12 years and couldn’t see an end to the boom.
“Maybe it will be stable in a couple of years from now, but it will never go down,” he said.
Mr Abbas said in the past quarter they had sold villas for hundreds of millions of dirhams and the ultra-luxury market was strong. At the other end of the market people who wanted to buy cheaper units were willing to move to remote locations but people from across the world were buying.
"I can say the United Nations are buying with us,” he said. “The whole market is buying with us.”
The National earlier this week reported on the unforgiving property world, with one agent stating only about 20 per cent of agents are doing really well – a sobering note far removed from the glitz on Friday.
The surge
Dubai’s housing market surpassed annual sales of Dh500 billion ($136.1 billion) for the first time in 2024, with huge demand for villas, townhouses and apartments.
The surge is being driven by liberalised visa rules, safety and security, more infrastructure, increased companies setting up, lower interest rates and the unrelenting population increase in the emirate.
Consultants ValuStrat said about 90,000 new residents arrived in Dubai in the first quarter of 2025. According to Dubai Statistics Centre, the population of the emirate on Friday stood at 3.94 million.
Top performing areas in Dubai include Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, Dubai Hills Estate, Dubai South and Motor City.
But what is more difficult to assess away from the headlines of lavish launches and unending booms is when the property market is going to cool.
The event on Friday was a sell-out, with 2,000 tickets sold and some even shelling out Dh30,000 for VIP seats at the front.
It aimed to share the latest trends, rules and regulations for brokers and agents, in partnership with the Dubai Land Department. Artificial intelligence was prominent with a report by Fam Properties stating AI was encouraging more younger buyers into the market as they could access data more easily. But questions about the boom were front and centre.
Warning signs
Manan Law, managing partner at Dubai-based mortgage firm Equifirst, said the surge that started in 2020 has ended.
He cautioned people expecting 50 per cent returns from that era would be disappointed, as this is now down to between 10 per cent to 12 per cent.
“In 2020, you could have closed your eyes and bought anything. And it would have yielded you a good return,” he said. “Now you have to start looking at who is the developer; what is the community; what are the amenities; and what is being built around.”
Mr Law said people in their keenness to get on the property train were forgetting that property was a “fixed illiquid asset and it takes time”.
“It is not a stock. You're not supposed to buy a property today and it'd be up 15 to 20 per cent in a year," he said. “That's not how real estate works. It is a long-term investment.”
Mr Law confirmed the market is maturing and mortgages now account for 40 per cent of sales in Dubai with lower interest rates helping.
"To make the investor feel more comfortable, there's more and more heavier lean towards financing,” he said. “It's just the normal progression.”
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
The biog
Name: Greg Heinricks
From: Alberta, western Canada
Record fish: 56kg sailfish
Member of: International Game Fish Association
Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
