Dubai Real Estate Transactions - Sales, Mortgages and Gifts

Sales were the largest of the 3 registration types by a wide margin. Dubai property transactions this week split as follows: sales took 63.8 percent of all value registered, mortgages 27.6 percent and gifted transfers 8.6 percent.

Dubai Mortgage Transactions and Property Gifts

Mortgage registrations came to AED 3.72 billion and gifted transfers to AED 1.16 billion, adding AED 4.88 billion between them. Dubai property gift transactions and mortgage registrations are reported separately from the sales figure.

Most Expensive Property Sold in Dubai This Week

These 3 transactions were among the costliest sales registered in the period, covering 2 apartments and 1 office unit:

• Apartment | W Residences, Palm Jumeirah | AED 53.7 million
• Office | Sensoria at Five Luxe, Marsa Dubai | AED 21.8 million
• Apartment | Bugatti Residences by Binghatti, Business Bay | AED 20.9 million

A practical starting point for buyers is the average sale value in Dubai, which came to about AED 3.21 million per deal. It covers every sale registered in the period, so it shows the overall ticket size of the market and not the price of any one type of home.

Dubai Property Registration Fee on an Average Sale

The Dubai property registration fee is 4 percent of the purchase price, charged when ownership is transferred. On a sale at the weekly average, that fee alone works out to roughly AED 128,400, before agency commission, mortgage costs or service charges. Budget for it from the start, not after an offer is accepted.

Top Priced Sales Against the Average

The W Residences apartment sold for more than 16 times the average sale value. A sale at this level should not be used to judge what a typical apartment costs. Do not accept verbal confirmation of a price; ask for recent registered sales in the same building.

For sellers, weekly volume shows how many sales were registered across the city. Dubai Properties sales last week averaged about 535 deals per working day, worth roughly AED 1.72 billion a day.

Volume figures show activity across all of Dubai, not demand for a specific unit. A seller setting an asking price should compare it with recent registered sales of similar units in the same community, matching size, view and floor where possible, instead of relying on citywide totals.

What the Weekly Figures Do Not Show for Landlords

Weekly sales registrations contain no rental data. Landlords setting rents or judging returns need registered tenancy figures for their own building, because sales registrations say nothing about what tenants pay.

All 3 of the top priced sales were in Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay and Marsa Dubai. These are freehold areas, where foreign nationals, including NRIs, can buy and hold property outright in their own name. Freehold status is the first thing to confirm when buying property in Dubai as an expat.

Dubai Mortgage Limits for Expats

Expat residents buying a first home valued under AED 5 million can borrow up to 80 percent of its value under UAE mortgage rules. That means a down payment of at least 20 percent, with the registration fee and other purchase costs paid on top.

Golden Visa Through Property in Dubai

A property valued at AED 2 million or more meets the investment threshold for the UAE Golden Visa, a long term residency route for property owners. The weekly average sale value is above that level, though eligibility is assessed property by property, based on its official valuation.

The way the headline figure is built does not change from one week to the next. It always adds 3 registration types together: sales, mortgages and gifts. Only sales record a property bought by a new owner, so the sales figure is the one to watch when judging buyer demand.

This Dubai real estate weekly report covers the working week, Monday to Friday, with values recorded in dirhams. Because the dirham is pegged to the US dollar, dollar values stay consistent from week to week for overseas buyers.

The data shows a wide gap even among the costliest deals of the week. The W Residences apartment sold for AED 31.9 million more than the Sensoria at Five Luxe office, and for AED 11 million more than that office and the Bugatti Residences by Binghatti apartment combined.

At the same time, the top priced sales were a very small part of overall sales value. This Dubai property market update for October 2026 therefore points to activity spread across the wider market, rather than a week driven by a handful of large transactions.

Weekly figures are a starting point, not a buying signal. These 5 checks turn them into a decision about a specific property:

1. Compare the asking price with recent registered sales of similar units in the same building, not with citywide averages.
2. Add the registration fee, agency commission and service charges to the price before comparing options.
3. If you plan to borrow, get bank pre-approval before paying any deposit, so the loan matches your down payment.
4. If residency is part of the plan, confirm that the official valuation meets the Golden Visa threshold before signing.
5. Check that the title deed or off-plan registration is in the seller's or developer's name. This is non-negotiable due diligence.

This report is based on official land registration figures for the working week of October 12 to 16, 2026, and on UAE rules for property registration fees, mortgage limits and Golden Visa eligibility as they stood in October 2026.

Before making a financial commitment, confirm a property's registered sale history, title status and valuation through the official land registry, and confirm your borrowing limit directly with your lender.

Averages, percentages and price gaps in this report are calculated from the weekly totals and rounded. No forecasts or estimates are included.