Historic Real Estate Surge Shows Broader Dubai Growth

The Dubai real estate market has broken another record. 

As per recent market reports, it has registered AED 559.4 billion in sales from January to October 2025, surpassing the AED 522.5 billion that was achieved in all of 2024. 2025 is now guaranteed to become the most successful year in the history of Dubai real estate. 

Q3 in particular enjoyed a 17% YoY increase in the number of transactions. Its standout sector was off-plan, which constituted 68% of all sales deals by volume. 

Though Dubai’s new housing supply is growing steadily, experts predict it will still not keep pace with the city’s rising population. Dubai’s population crossed 4 million earlier this year — a 4.47% YoY increase as of October 2025, which translates to 470 new residents and 150 new homes daily. Yet, some market reports have suggested approximately 40,000 new units are to be delivered by the end of 2025, a lower figure than required. With the city’s population projected to reach 5 million by 2030, there exists a lucrative market gap for new developers to capitalise on. 

This expansion aligns with the city’s broader economic growth. Dubai’s economy grew 4.4% to reach AED 241 billion in H1 2025. The emirate’s surging non-oil sectors played a vital role in this. Real estate alone grew 7% in the first six months, contributing a staggering AED 19.8 billion (8.2%) to the GDP. Other high-growth sectors included finance and insurance, construction, human health, wholesale and retail trade, and transportation and storage. Augmenting this is the consistent development of longer-term plans. The Dubai Metro’s highly awaited Blue Line is already 10% complete, a mere five months after the plan was introduced to the public. 

And on the subject of longer-term plans, in a bid to capitalise on this extended period of growth, the city has announced a $5 billion plan to become one of the world’s most liveable cities by 2033. 

The plan features a stunning list of initiatives across sectors. The Public Parks and Greenery Strategy includes the development of over 310 new parks and aims for 80% of Dubai’s residents to live within a five-minute walk of their neighbourhood park. The Aviation Talent 33 initiative aims to reinforce the city as a global aviation hub, a move in sync with the hugely anticipated Al Maktoum International Airport. Simultaneously, Dubai also aspires to rank among the world’s leading cities for education, with plans to attract 60 new affordable schools by 2033. 

Collectively, the current market and these forward-thinking initiatives paint Dubai as a city that is prosperous and sustainable — in all senses of these words.