Report: Dubai consolidates status as luxury home purchase destination

This photo taken on Oct. 17, 2024 shows a city view of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. [Photo/Xinhua]

Dubai was the world's busiest market for residential properties priced at US$10 million and above for the second consecutive year, according to a report from global property consultancy Knight Frank. 

The United Arab Emirates city recorded 435 sales in this price bracket in 2024, almost equaling the number of the same price-range home sales in London and New York combined. A further 111 homes sold for over US$10 million during Q1 this year, the highest number for the same period in history. 

Shehzad Jamal, a partner at Knight Frank, said, "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-plus homes market for the second year running."

A record of nearly 170,000 residential sales were made in Dubai in 2024, totaling US$100 billion, and the momentum has continued into 2025, with home sales hitting AED100 billion (US$27 billion) by March 4 – the fastest pace on record. 

In partnership with market research firm YouGov, Knight Frank carried out a survey of 387 high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) based in India, Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and East Asia, each with an average net worth of US$22 million.

The survey finds that Saudi HNWIs have the highest average budget for a home purchase in Dubai (US$45.7 million), followed by those from India (US$44.6 million) and the U.K. (US$30 million). Asian HNWIs have the lowest budget among Knight Frank's survey respondents, averaging US$23 million. 

As to the target neighborhood for a residential acquisition, Dubai's property market poster-child Dubai Marina (28%) was once again the top target among HNWIs, with Dubai Hills Estate (24%) and Emirates Hills (23%) in second and third place, respectively.  

The survey also finds that 61% of the Chinese respondents have interest in property purchase in Dubai, following those from Saudi Arabia (96%) and India (86%).

Dubai's overall real estate market continued to expand during 2024, with values and rents climbing to fresh highs and the total value of transactions across all sectors topping US$207 billion, according to the report.