17–22 August 2026: Dubai and Abu Dhabi Property Transactions Report

Dubai returned to growth from 17 to 22 August, while a concentrated group of high-value registrations transformed Abu Dhabi’s weekly totals. Dubai recorded 2,814 residential sales worth AED 5.66bn. Abu Dhabi recorded 699 residential sales worth AED 4.07bn. Each emirate is compared only with its own previous week.

The longer-term Abu Dhabi comparison is more striking than the weekly increase. By 21 August, 2026 registered home-sale value had reached AED 80.57bn—16.0% above the whole of 2025, despite transaction count remaining 13.9% below last year’s total. The week also contained an AED 350m Saadiyat villa, the second-highest individual home registration in Projectory’s ADREC series since 2019.

The headline weekly increase still needs careful interpretation. A single new community supplied 275 home registrations, and the AED 350m villa represented almost 9% of the emirate’s weekly home-sale value. Dubai’s increase was more broadly distributed across several off-plan projects.

The week at a glance

• Dubai: 2,814 residential sales worth AED 5.66bn. Sales rose 7.3% and value increased 4.5% week on week.
• Abu Dhabi: 699 residential sales worth AED 4.07bn. Sales rose 52.0% and value increased 177.1% week on week.
• Abu Dhabi annual context: year-to-date home-sale value was 125.6% higher than at the same point in 2025 and had already reached 116.0% of the full-year 2025 total.

What the data suggests

• Dubai’s recovery was led by off-plan registrations rather than a larger ultra-prime contribution. Off-plan home sales rose 10.6%, while ready sales fell 3.6%. Homes registered at AED 10m or more supplied 18.5% of value, down from 23.5% a week earlier.
• Dubai’s launch activity was spread across several projects. Azizi Venice, Azizi Milan and Golf Fields supplied 673 registrations—24.1% of Dubai home sales—without any one project exceeding 9.1% of the emirate’s total.
• Abu Dhabi’s surge was highly concentrated. Hudayriyat Golf Estates supplied 275 initial off-plan sales worth AED 1.95bn. Without that batch, home registrations would have fallen 10.2%, although value would still have risen 47.1%.
• One transaction materially affected Abu Dhabi’s value. A six-bedroom villa at Four Seasons Private Residences registered at AED 350m—the second-highest home sale in the ADREC series since 2019. Removing it as well as the Hudayriyat batch leaves home-sale value 21.7% above the previous week, on 10.4% fewer sales.
• Abu Dhabi’s expansion is both larger and more off-plan than a year ago. Against the same point in 2025, year-to-date sales were up 63.4%, value was up 125.6% and the off-plan share had increased from 64.0% to 82.1%.

Dubai: 2,814 residential sales worth AED 5.66bn

Dubai’s total residential market comprised 2,814 sales worth AED 5.66bn, compared with 2,623 sales worth AED 5.42bn from 10 to 16 August. Sales rose 7.3%, while registered value increased 4.5%.

Homes accounted for 2,792 sales worth AED 5.47bn. The register also contained 20 separate residential land sales worth AED 184.35m and two whole residential assets worth AED 10.36m. Dubai’s largest separate residential plot sale was an AED 52m registration in Wadi Al Safa 3; the largest whole residential asset was an AED 9.44m sale in Al Garhoud.

Within the home-sale series, registrations rose 7.0% and value increased 2.9%. Off-plan sales moved from 1,937 to 2,143, up 10.6%. Ready sales declined from 673 to 649, down 3.6%. The off-plan share consequently increased by 2.5 percentage points to 76.8%.

The median registered home price rose 4.0% to AED 1.20m. The median registered price per square foot declined 1.1% to AED 1,686. Both measures describe the mix of homes registered during the week; they are not a repeat-sales price index.

New batches offset fewer Azizi Venice registrations

Azizi Venice remained Dubai’s largest project by transaction count, with 255 home sales worth AED 211.0m. Its registrations fell 42.0% from the previous week’s unusually large batch of 440.

Two other projects absorbed that reduction. Azizi Milan recorded 253 sales worth AED 172.4m, while Golf Fields recorded 165 worth AED 309.0m. Together, the three projects supplied 673 home sales, equal to 24.1% of Dubai’s weekly total and 12.7% of registered home-sale value.

Dubai South remained the busiest location, with 554 home sales worth AED 1.01bn. City of Arabia rose from 205 to 322 home registrations, largely due to Azizi Milan, while Business Bay’s registered value increased from AED 284.6m to AED 401.2m.

The top end made a smaller contribution than in the previous week. Dubai recorded 51 home sales at AED 10m or more, worth AED 1.01bn. These transactions represented 1.8% of home sales and 18.5% of home-sale value, down from 23.5% a week earlier. Value therefore grew without becoming more dependent on AED 10m-plus homes.

The largest Dubai home sale was a four-bedroom off-plan apartment at Bugatti Residences by Binghatti in Business Bay, registered at AED 63m. It was followed by an AED 49m off-plan villa on Frond M at Palm Jebel Ali and an AED 45.2m three-bedroom apartment at Bugatti Residences.

Abu Dhabi: 699 residential sales worth AED 4.07bn

Abu Dhabi’s total residential market comprised 699 sales worth AED 4.07bn, compared with 460 worth AED 1.47bn in the previous week. Sales rose 52.0% and registered value increased 177.1%.

That total contained 671 home sales worth AED 3.98bn, 24 residential land sales worth AED 77.96m and four whole residential assets worth AED 16.37m. Home registrations rose 52.2%, while their value increased 187.8%.

Off-plan home sales increased from 348 to 585, while ready sales fell from 93 to 86. The off-plan share increased by 8.3 percentage points to 87.2%.

Hudayriyat Golf Estates reshaped the week

Hudayriyat Golf Estates recorded 275 initial off-plan sales worth AED 1.95bn: 215 townhouses worth AED 1.10bn and 60 villas worth AED 842.2m. The community supplied 41.0% of Abu Dhabi’s home registrations and 48.9% of home-sale value. That one release generated approximately 46% more value than the average entire Abu Dhabi home-sales week in 2025.

Removing the batch leaves 396 home sales worth AED 2.03bn, compared with 441 worth AED 1.38bn in the previous week. On that basis, registrations declined 10.2%, while value still rose 47.1%.

The remaining value increase was also concentrated. A six-bedroom off-plan villa at Four Seasons Private Residences on Saadiyat Island registered at AED 350m, the largest home sale recorded in either emirate during the week and the second-highest individual home registration in Projectory’s ADREC series since 2019. Only an AED 400.81m villa at Faya Al Saadiyat in February 2026 was higher.

The three largest individual Abu Dhabi home registrations in the series all occurred on Saadiyat Island during 2026: the AED 400.81m Faya villa, this AED 350m Four Seasons villa and an AED 200m Four Seasons penthouse registered in May. Hudayriyat Golf Estates and the AED 350m villa contributed AED 2.30bn—88.4% of Abu Dhabi’s week-on-week increase in home-sale value. Excluding both leaves 395 home sales worth AED 1.68bn: 10.4% fewer sales than the previous week, but 21.7% more value.

The concentration changed the weekly mix. Villas represented 332 of Abu Dhabi’s 671 home registrations. The median home price rose from AED 2.40m to AED 4.23m, while the median registered price per square foot increased from AED 1,259 to AED 1,881. These large movements mainly reflect the addition of higher-value villas and townhouses rather than a market-wide price change.

Al Hidayriyyat led the emirate with 297 home sales worth AED 2.16bn. Al Reem Island recorded 125 home sales, up from 62, while Al Saadiyat Island was broadly stable at 66, down from 67. The week produced 89 home sales at AED 10m or more, worth AED 1.77bn. They accounted for 13.3% of home sales and 44.6% of registered home-sale value.

The second-highest weekly home-sale value since 2019

Abu Dhabi’s AED 3.98bn home-sale total was the second-highest weekly registered value in Projectory’s ADREC series since 2019, behind the week beginning 23 February 2026. It ranked thirteenth by transaction count across the same series. The difference between those rankings reinforces the importance of the week’s high-value mix.

The same week produced a longer-term milestone. Abu Dhabi’s 2026 registered home-sale value crossed 115% of the full-year 2025 total on 20 August. By 21 August it had reached AED 80.57bn, equal to 116.0% of the AED 69.48bn recorded throughout 2025.

The same-date comparison shows the pace of change more clearly. Abu Dhabi recorded 18,433 home sales worth AED 80.57bn from 1 January through 21 August 2026, compared with 11,280 worth AED 35.72bn by the same date in 2025. Sales increased 63.4%, value increased 125.6% and average registered value per home rose approximately 38.0%, from AED 3.17m to AED 4.37m. The year-to-date off-plan share increased by 18.1 percentage points, from 64.0% to 82.1%.

Transaction count nevertheless remains below the full-year 2025 total. The 18,433 registrations recorded through 21 August equal 86.1% of the 21,411 recorded throughout last year. Value has therefore crossed the annual benchmark well ahead of volume.

Homes, land and whole residential assets

The total residential market is the sum of three non-overlapping scopes: homes, residential land and whole residential assets. Reporting them separately preserves a like-for-like view of apartments, villas and townhouses while still showing the wider residential market.

Different classification rules produce different totals for the same dates. Projectory includes residential plots and complete residential assets in the total residential market, while excluding commercial property, hospitality units, mixed-use transactions, mortgages and gifts. Home-only figures remain separate for off-plan shares, medians and project analysis.

The classification also changes the luxury ranking. DLD identifies the AED 48.75m Lumena Alta transaction included in the broader market coverage as a commercial office. Projectory therefore excludes it from the residential list, while retaining the AED 63m and AED 45.2m Bugatti Residences apartments that appear in both datasets.

Projectory’s take: Dubai’s return to growth was healthier than a single-project surge: registrations were distributed across several launches, while ready sales and high-value concentration both eased. Abu Dhabi’s headline increase was exceptional, but much of it came from one new community and one very large villa. Even after removing those transactions, however, the remaining home-sale value was 21.7% above the previous week. The weekly price mix should not be treated as a market-wide price jump, but the same-date annual comparison—value up 125.6% and off-plan share up 18.1 percentage points—shows that Abu Dhabi’s shift towards higher-value off-plan activity extends well beyond this one batch.

How these figures are built

Projectory analysed Dubai and Abu Dhabi separately using sales registered by the Dubai Land Department and Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre from Monday 17 August through Saturday 22 August 2026. The comparison period is 10 through 16 August. Neither source snapshot contained registrations dated 22 August. The principal weekly figure is the total residential market; home-only measures are retained for off-plan splits, medians, project concentration and location analysis.

The home-sale scope includes apartments, villas, townhouses, duplexes and penthouses. DLD land rows matched to villa inventory remain in the home series and are not counted again as plots. Residential land covers separately registered residential plots. Whole residential assets covers complete residential buildings in Dubai and residential complexes in Abu Dhabi. Total residential market is the sum of those three non-overlapping scopes.

Commercial and mixed-use property, hotel units, mortgages, gifts and other transaction types are excluded from every scope. Each transaction identifier is counted once. Prices are registered values rather than asking prices. Off-plan shares and medians apply only to the home-sale scope; adding plots or complete buildings would distort them.

The DLD and ADREC registers can add or correct historical transactions. Projectory refreshed both source snapshots on 22 August 2026. Market medians describe the mix of homes registered during each week and should not be read as a repeat-sales price index.

The Abu Dhabi annual comparison applies the same home-sale definition. The same-date comparison covers 1 January through 21 August in both years; the annual benchmark covers the full 2025 calendar year. The average 2025 weekly value divides the full-year home-sale value by 52.

Cite this research

For articles, posts and market commentary, use: Projectory Research, “17–22 August 2026: Dubai and Abu Dhabi Property Transactions Report”, August 2026. The report covers Dubai and Abu Dhabi home sales, residential land and whole residential assets registered from 17 through 22 August using DLD and ADREC data refreshed on 22 August.

Continue exploring Projectory Research

• Previous weekly report: 10–16 August 2026
• Browse all Projectory market research
• Dubai Property Market July 2026: DLD Home Sales Report
• Dubai Property Market H1 2026: DLD Data Report
• Abu Dhabi Property Market H1 2026: ADREC Data Report

Sources

• Dubai Land Department: Real Estate Data
• Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre: Market Data