Dubai's residential real estate market added 24,800 new homes to its housing stock in the first half of 2026, a 37.6% jump from the same period last year, according to Cavendish Maxwell's Dubai Residential Market Performance H1 2026 report. It's one of the strongest half-year delivery periods the emirate has recorded, as thousands of projects launched during the 2024–2025 boom begin reaching handover — a sign the market is shifting from a launch-led cycle toward one increasingly defined by completions.

Dubai Home Deliveries Jump 37.6% in H1 2026

Apartments accounted for most of the new supply, with 18,900 units delivered — up 43% year-on-year — while villas and townhouses added a further 5,900 units, a 22.6% increase. Together, the total represents Dubai's record housing deliveries working through a pipeline built during the emirate's record launch years.

  1. 24,800 total homes delivered in H1 2026
  2. 18,900 apartments, up 43% year-on-year
  3. 5,900 villas and townhouses, up 22.6% year-on-year
  4. 37.6% year-on-year increase in total deliveries

Off-Plan Sales Continue to Drive Property Demand

The extra supply hasn't dented demand. Dubai recorded 79,300 residential transactions worth AED 221.4 billion in H1 2026, and off-plan sales still made up the bulk of that activity. New housing stock, sustained off-plan appetite, and steady ready-property transactions together point to a market normalizing rather than losing momentum — buyers are still committing to off-plan properties in Dubai even as delivered supply grows.

  1. 79,300 total transactions worth AED 221.4 billion
  2. 59,300 off-plan transactions — 74.8% of all sales
  3. 20,000 ready-property transactions

Dubai Property Prices and Rents Remain Resilient

Despite the wave of new supply, values held their ground through H1 2026. Average sales prices and rents both posted year-on-year gains, and rental yields stayed attractive across both apartments and villas.

  1. Average sales price: AED 1,639 per sq. ft, up 1.9% year-on-year
  2. Average annual rent: AED 75.7 per sq. ft, up 7.8% year-on-year
  3. Apartment rental yield: 6.9%
  4. Villa/townhouse rental yield: 5.0%

What Comes Next for Dubai's Housing Supply?

The pipeline suggests H1's delivery surge is just the start of a larger cycle. Roughly 47,000 units are scheduled for handover in H2 2026 alone, with apartments making up 82.5% of that supply. At the same time, new launches moderated to 124 new projects in Dubai totaling about 28,000 units in H1 — a marked slowdown from the 2024–2025 pace that reinforces the sense of a market settling into its next phase.

  1. ~47,000 units scheduled for delivery in H2 2026 (82.5% apartments)
  2. 162,500 units expected in 2027
  3. 128,200 units expected in 2028
  4. 124 new projects (~28,000 units) launched in H1 2026, down sharply from the prior boom pace

H1 2026 marks a turning point for Dubai's residential market: a wave of previously launched projects is reaching completion, while off-plan activity, prices, and rents all held resilient through the transition. With tens of thousands more units scheduled through 2028, how closely actual deliveries track that scheduled supply — not the headline numbers alone — will be the market's key indicator through the rest of 2026.