Record Number of Dubai Homes Sold Above $10 Million in Q1

Dubai real estate enjoyed 111 sales of homes valued at above $10 million individually during the first quarter of 2025. A 5.7% increase from Q1 2024, this figure is now a market record. The findings, detailed in a new report quoted by local publication Gulf News put to rest fears of a property market slowdown or adverse impact of global tariffs. 

The iconic Palm Jumeirah retained its status as the city’s most prestigious address, recording 34 sales of homes above $10 million each. Close behind this was Emirates Hills with 15 such transactions. Notably, Emirates Hills registered the most valuable transaction of Q1 2025 – a six-bedroom villa for $106.3 million (approximately AED 390 million). Dubai saw a total of 12 deals for homes valued higher than $25 million (approximately AED 91.8 million) – a significant indicator of the ultra-wealthy demand.

These numbers follow a 2024 that saw 435 homes sold above $10 million in Dubai – a record-breaking number worldwide. In fact, Dubai has led the world in being the most active market for sales of homes higher than $10 million for the last two years. By Q3 of last year alone, the city had outpaced the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong in this regard for 2024. 

This is a sustained demand driven in large part by the influx of HNWIs into Dubai and the U.A.E. Though industry analysts projected the country to welcome 6700 millionaires as residents in 2024, recent reports like those of Henley & Partners have suggested the true number lies north of 7000. Either way, the U.A.E. enjoyed the highest net inflow of HNWIs last year – in stark contrast to the U.K.’s projected outflow of 9500 millionaires and China’s 15,200.

Couple this lucrative and sustainable market with a stable political environment, and the fact that the country was levied with only a 10% global base tariff by the United States (as opposed to higher tariffs for a slew of competing luxury markets), and the real estate market in the U.A.E. – particularly Dubai – shows no signs of faltering. 

A recent market survey by Global Branded Residences has projected a doubling in demand for branded residences in Dubai, building on the 13,000-plus branded units estimated to be sold in the city last year, with buyers from regions as diverse as Russia, India, China and the European mainland. 

The introduction of new brands to join the likes of Bulgari, Bugatti, Jacob & Co. and more does not seem to be ending either. One of the latest branded projects is the Trump International Hotel and Tower, a $1 billion development by the Trump Organisation in collaboration with Dar Global. And it is Eric Trump who, in a recent interview with local publication The National, perhaps captures the state of luxury Dubai real estate the best: “What’s interesting is everybody’s trying to redefine luxury, redefine kind of the highest pinnacle, and they’re all succeeding…[Dubai has] become a destination for the entire world.”