Dubai remains top market for homes transacted for over US$10 mil: Knight Frank

Following robust activity in 2024, the Dubai real estate market is expected to continue attracting demand from among the wealthy. According to a research report by property consultancy Knight Frank, high-net-worth individuals (HWNIs) surveyed around the world have indicated interest in purchasing a property in Dubai, with an estimated US$10.3 billion ($13 billion) in private capital potentially being channelled towards the emirate’s residential market.

The steady demand has bolstered activity in Dubai’s residential market, which logged record residential sales of nearly 170,000 homes last year worth a total of US$100 billion, says Knight Frank. That momentum has carried over into this year, with AED100 billion ($35 billion)  in home sales already achieved as of March 4. Dubai property prices have also continued to rise, surging 19.1% in 2024 to hit an average of AED1,685 psf.

At the same time, Dubai remains the world’s busiest market for sales of homes priced over US$10 million, the report states. Last year, a total of 435 transactions in this bracket were recorded in Dubai, almost equalling the number of such deals logged in London and New York combined. Between January and March this year, 111 homes were sold for over US$10 million in Dubai. 

“The super-rich remain laser-focused on purchasing luxury homes in the city, and this unrelenting demand has been a critical driver of Dubai being the world’s busiest US$10 million+ homes market for the second year running,” says Shehzad Jamal, partner for strategy and consultancy at Knight Frank MENA (Middle East and North Africa).

In its latest Destination Dubai report, Knight Frank surveyed 387 global HNWI across the UK, India, Saudi Arabia and East Asia (China, Hong Kong and Singapore) to gauge their appetite for investing in United Arab Emirates real estate. Over half of the respondents (52%) indicated they are interested in buying property in the UAE. 

“As we have found in our research in previous years and mirroring the experience of our teams, the strongest appetite for a real estate purchase in the UAE comes from those with the greatest wealth and is a testament to the success of the government’s programmes to strengthen the emirate’s appeal as a place for the world’s wealthy to live and invest,” says Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for Knight Frank MENA.

Saudi Arabia and India HNWIs registered the strongest interest, with 66% and 41% of respondents indicating an intent to purchase a UAE property in 2025. For the UK and East Asia HNWIs surveyed, 17% of each cohort indicated a potential UAE property purchase this year. 

Knight Frank adds that among the East Asia HNWIs, those in Hong Kong displayed the strongest appetite, with 22% of respondents signalling the intent to buy UAE property in 2025.

According to the survey, residential properties remain the biggest draw for global HNWI as compared to the commercial and retail segments. Additionally, Dubai remains the top target destination, with 71% of respondents naming Dubai as their preferred emirate.