Dubai homes over $10 million: 500 sales in 2025 and a record 296 in the first half of 2026
Knight Frank counted 500 Dubai home sales above US$10m in 2025, worth US$9.05bn, against 30 in 2020. The first half of 2026 added 296 more worth US$5.1bn, a half-year record. Where the money went and why the top of the market held up.
While Dubai's mainstream market cools in 2026, its top floor keeps setting records. Knight Frank counted 500 home sales above US$10m in 2025, worth US$9.05bn in total, 27.7% more than in 2024. In 2020 there were 30. By number of such sales Dubai has been the world's busiest US$10m+ market for several years, with more than three times London's total in 2025.
The 2025 record
| Year | Sales above US$10m |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 30 |
| 2023 | 434 |
| 2024 | 435 |
| 2025 | 500 |
A record 68 homes sold above US$25m. The year finished strongly, with 143 US$10m+ sales in the fourth quarter against 103 in the third. Fourth-quarter activity concentrated on Palm Jumeirah (28), Palm Jebel Ali (22), La Mer (16), Jumeirah Second (13) and Tilal Al Ghaf (9).
2026: the crisis barely shows at the top
The first half of 2026 was the best on record for the segment: 296 sales above US$10m worth US$5.1bn, 14% more than in the first half of 2025. The first quarter set a quarterly record with 165 sales; the second, which fell in the most nervous period, still produced 131. The most expensive sale of the half was a residence at Aman Residences in Jumeirah Second for US$114.9m. Dubai Hills Estate led the half with 51 sales, followed by Palm Jumeirah (50) and Palm Jebel Ali (40): ready family villas on one side, a relaunched island under construction on the other.
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Why the top end is more resilient
- Ready prime stock is scarce. Few finished waterfront villas exist, and the new islands are years from completion. A family relocating now has little to choose from.
- Buyers do not depend on mortgages. US$10m purchases are almost always cash, so rates and bank criteria barely matter.
- Owners, not traders. Knight Frank notes that 25% of homes were resold within 12 months in 2008; last year the share was 4%.
- Wealth keeps arriving. The UAE has led global millionaire inflows for several years, and a family moving with capital needs a home, not a yield product.
Knight Frank's 2026 forecast for prime values was modest, around +3%. At this level the case rests less on price growth than on scarcity: a view, a plot or a beachfront that cannot be recreated.
The deals behind Dubai's price records are unpacked in twenty-fold in fifteen years, and the city's most closed villa market in Emirates Hills explained.
Video on this topic
The same subject on the English channel — each clip has a written version of its own.
13:04Seven Palm on Palm Jumeirah: an infinity pool, a rooftop bar and a hotel underneath8 May 2024
12:00XXII Carat on Palm Jumeirah: 22 Mediterranean villas compared with Raffles and Zabeel Saray20 September 2023
13:00Socio by Emaar in Dubai Hills: buying a whole floor, and skipping the 2% commission4 October 2023
11:44Dubai Hills ready apartments: the park, the schools and a 6–7% long-let yield23 September 2023
13:04The best townhouses in Dubai under USD 600 000: Nshama Town Square7 October 2023
23:36Madinat Jumeirah Living by Meraas: living opposite the Burj Al Arab30 December 2023
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