Search for Dubai property prices over the last 10 years and you mostly get agency charts built from listings, or a single citywide index line. Neither tells you what a one-bedroom in Dubai Marina actually sold for in 2016. The Dubai Land Department (DLD) sales register does. This page is built from it: the median registered price of ready apartments, by community and bedroom count, every year since 2012, with an index-based estimate back to 2008. Data runs to 23.09.2026; "today" means the 12 months from 24.09.2025 to 23.09.2026.
The short version: since 2016, the median one-bedroom in Dubai Marina went from AED 1,200,000 to AED 1,525,000, and in Downtown from AED 1,600,000 to AED 2,050,000. Almost all of that happened after 2020 — between 2014 and 2020 both lost about a third.
These are historical transaction figures, not investment advice or a forecast. Past price moves say nothing about future ones. An area median is the middle of a year's sales, not the value of any particular apartment.
Where the numbers come from
- 2012 to today: median price of ready residential apartments per community and bedroom count, from the DLD sales register (Dubai Pulse export, published by Dubai Real Estate Data) plus DLD open data for 2026. A year is shown only with at least 25 sales.
- 2008–2011 (marked ≈): an estimate, not transactions. Today's series is scaled back with the REIDIN house price index published by the Bank for International Settlements, only for communities that were already built. Because one citywide index is used, every community shows the same ≈ −32 % between 2008 and 2011. In reality they fell by different amounts.
- Burj Khalifa is a small sample: 11 to 56 one-bedroom sales a year, with a threshold of 10. 2015 fell below it.
- Ready homes only. Off-plan sales are excluded — and in 2025 they were 68 % of residential registrations in the DLD register. See off-plan vs ready.
Dubai property price history, year by year (AED)
Medians rounded to the nearest thousand. All columns are one-bedroom apartments except Palm Jumeirah, which is two-bedroom.
| year | Dubai Marina 1BR | Downtown 1BR | JVC 1BR | International City 1BR | Palm Jumeirah 2BR | Burj Khalifa 1BR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ≈1,177,000 | ≈1,569,000 | — | ≈418,000 | ≈3,334,000 | — |
| 2009 | ≈951,000 | ≈1,268,000 | — | ≈338,000 | ≈2,695,000 | — |
| 2010 | ≈822,000 | ≈1,096,000 | — | ≈292,000 | ≈2,329,000 | — |
| 2011 | ≈802,000 | ≈1,069,000 | — | ≈285,000 | ≈2,272,000 | — |
| 2012 | 900,000 | 1,200,000 | 758,000 | 320,000 | 2,550,000 | 2,633,000 |
| 2013 | 1,021,000 | 1,514,000 | 650,000 | 400,000 | 2,780,000 | 3,256,000 |
| 2014 | 1,300,000 | 1,800,000 | 650,000 | 500,000 | 3,187,000 | 3,946,000 |
| 2015 | 1,200,000 | 1,700,000 | 695,000 | 487,000 | 2,800,000 | — |
| 2016 | 1,200,000 | 1,600,000 | 688,000 | 489,000 | 2,547,000 | 2,807,000 |
| 2017 | 1,200,000 | 1,518,000 | 775,000 | 470,000 | 2,500,000 | 2,800,000 |
| 2018 | 1,071,000 | 1,336,000 | 700,000 | 380,000 | 2,263,000 | 2,000,000 |
| 2019 | 920,000 | 1,150,000 | 600,000 | 330,000 | 1,650,000 | 1,800,000 |
| 2020 | 855,000 | 1,180,000 | 565,000 | 308,000 | 1,745,000 | 1,750,000 |
| 2021 | 1,025,000 | 1,200,000 | 633,000 | 300,000 | 2,208,000 | 2,100,000 |
| 2022 | 1,075,000 | 1,447,000 | 711,000 | 315,000 | 2,850,000 | 2,800,000 |
| 2023 | 1,200,000 | 1,635,000 | 720,000 | 340,000 | 3,128,000 | 3,000,000 |
| 2024 | 1,360,000 | 1,823,000 | 825,000 | 395,000 | 3,750,000 | 3,120,000 |
| 2025 | 1,520,000 | 2,050,000 | 955,000 | 430,000 | 4,225,000 | 3,050,000 |
| today | 1,525,000 | 2,050,000 | 1,000,000 | 450,000 | 4,500,000 | 3,050,000 |
If you want this as a chart, the shape is the same in every column: a trough around 2011, a peak in 2014, a long slide to 2019–2020, then a steep climb. For one community in full detail, see Dubai Marina prices by year; for the tower, buying an apartment in Burj Khalifa.
Dubai property appreciation per year
How much did prices rise per year over the last decade? Comparing calendar 2016 with today's 12 months (roughly ten years) and converting to a compound annual rate:
| unit | 2016 median | today | total change | ≈ per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Marina 1BR | 1,200,000 | 1,525,000 | +27 % | +2.4 % |
| Downtown 1BR | 1,600,000 | 2,050,000 | +28 % | +2.5 % |
| JVC 1BR | 687,600 | 1,000,000 | +45 % | +3.8 % |
| International City 1BR | 489,000 | 450,000 | −8 % | −0.8 % |
| Palm Jumeirah 2BR | 2,546,950 | 4,500,000 | +77 % | +5.9 % |
| Burj Khalifa 1BR | 2,806,543 | 3,050,000 | +9 % | +0.8 % |
A per-year average hides the path. Measured from the 2020 trough instead, the same units are up 78 % (Marina), 74 % (Downtown), 77 % (JVC), 46 % (International City), 158 % (Palm) and 74 % (Burj Khalifa). Measured from the 2014 peak, International City and Burj Khalifa are still below where they were. The entry year decides almost everything — which is what was it worth buying looks at across all 539 cards of our game.
The four cycles, with sources
2008–2011: the crash
In autumn 2008 the market turned sharply; by early 2009 there were four times fewer sales than in summer 2008. The IMF (Country Report 11/111) put the fall at about 50 % from the 2008 peak; the REIDIN index shows −37 % by end-2010. The IMF's Report 14/188 says prices kept falling until the end of 2011. Our ≈ −32 % compares annual averages, which smooths out the peak and the bottom.
2012–2014: recovery to a peak
On 27.11.2013 the BIE chose Dubai to host Expo 2020. At the same time the authorities leaned against speculation: Executive Council Resolution 30 of 2013 raised the DLD transfer fee from 2 % to 4 % (from 06.10.2013), and the Central Bank's Circular 31/2013 capped loan-to-value — for an expatriate, 75 % on a first home up to AED 5 million. The index peaked in October 2014. Dubai Marina 1BR went from AED 900,000 to 1,300,000 in two years (+44 %).
2014–2020: six years down
The IMF (Report 15/219) links the decline from mid-2014 to heavy new supply, cheaper oil and a strong US dollar, to which the dirham is pegged. By REIDIN, prices lost 33 % from October 2014 to November 2020. In our register medians, Marina and Downtown 1BR fell about 34 %, Palm Jumeirah 2BR 45 %, Burj Khalifa 1BR 56 %. In April 2020 Dubai introduced round-the-clock sterilisation (Dubai Media Office) and Expo was moved to 2021.
2021–2025: the climb and record volumes
Expo opened on 01.10.2021. DLD counts 84,196 transactions in 2021, 66 % more than in 2020. In 2022 the property threshold for the 10-year Golden Visa dropped from AED 5 million to AED 2 million (Gulf News); that year saw 122,658 transactions worth AED 528 billion. 2024: 226,000 transactions, AED 761 billion (Dubai Media Office). 2025: over 270,000, AED 917 billion (Dubai Department of Finance). These totals include off-plan, land and commercial deals, not just the ready flats in our tables.
Price per square metre, citywide, 2024–2026
For a citywide figure we use the DLD register for ready apartment sales across Dubai, taking the median of price divided by area for each deal:
| period | sales | median AED per m² |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Aug 2024 | 26,757 | 13,215 |
| Jan–Aug 2025 | 28,887 | 14,456 |
| Jan–Aug 2026 | 21,140 | 15,072 |
That is +4.3 % year on year per square metre and +14 % over two years, on 27 % fewer ready-apartment sales than in January–August 2025. In US dollars at the peg (1 USD = 3.6725 AED), AED 15,072 is about USD 4,100 per m². The month-by-month picture is in did Dubai prices fall in 2026.
Median sale price vs the Dubai property price index vs listings
These three answer different questions:
- Listings show what sellers ask, for homes not yet sold.
- An index (REIDIN, the DLD residential price index) is built to compare like with like over time. It tells you the direction of the market, not what a flat costs.
- A median of registered sales is what buyers actually paid, but it moves with the mix of what sold. Dubai Marina 4BR: AED 4,900,000 in 2014 on 59 sales, AED 2,900,000 in 2015 on 38 sales — the market did not fall 40 % in a year, different flats changed hands. JVC 1BR looks cheaper in 2014 than in 2012 because the typical unit shrank from 88.9 m² to 69.5 m².
The 2025 trap: flat prices, negative results
Buy a Dubai Marina 1BR at the 2025 median of AED 1,520,000 and it is worth AED 1,525,000 today — yet after the 4 % DLD fee the result is −AED 55,800 (−4 %). In our game, 24 of 33 cards bought in 2025 end in the red for this reason, while the median today vs 2025 is about +1 %. That is the cost of entry, not a price fall. Trustee, title deed and agent fees are not included; add them with the purchase costs calculator.
Try any year yourself in the game. Rents in the same communities, from Ejari contracts, are in rental yield by area.
Before you rely on a median
A median tells you the going rate for a type of flat in a community; a purchase is one unit in one building. Before paying a deposit it is worth checking comparable registered sales in that building, the title and any encumbrances, outstanding service charges, and the full cost on top of the price. Our real estate practice checks the property and the documents; we do not promise an outcome. The steps of a purchase are in buying property in Dubai.
FAQ
How much have Dubai property prices increased in the last 10 years?
From 2016 to today's 12 months, by DLD sales medians: Dubai Marina 1BR +27 %, Downtown 1BR +28 %, JVC 1BR +45 %, Palm Jumeirah 2BR +77 %, Burj Khalifa 1BR +9 %, International City 1BR −8 %.
When did Dubai property prices peak?
Before the current cycle there were two peaks: 2008 and October 2014 (REIDIN). Most communities in our table are now above their 2014 medians; Burj Khalifa 1BR (AED 3,050,000 vs 3,946,000) and International City are not.
What is the average price per square metre in Dubai?
The median for ready apartments citywide in January–August 2026 is AED 15,072 per m² (DLD register). It is a median of deals, not an index, and varies widely by community.
Is the DLD median the same as the Dubai property price index?
No. The index adjusts for what sold; a median does not. Use the index for direction and medians for the typical price paid.