More than 214,000 rental contracts were registered across Dubai during the first seven months of 2026, while Dubai South retained its position as the emirate’s top-performing sales destination for the fifth consecutive month.
August 11, 2026 | Tripti Mehta | UAE | Real Estate | 2 Min Read
Image Courtesy: fäm Properties
Dubai’s residential leasing market remains on course for a record year, with 214,445 rental contracts registered during the first seven months of 2026, according to market analysis released by fäm Properties. The figure represents a 1.9% increase compared with the same period last year. July alone recorded 38,197 rental contracts, comprising 18,431 new agreements and 19,766 renewals.
The data also highlights a continued preference for apartment living, with one-bedroom units accounting for 88,327 tenancy contracts registered so far this year, representing 41% of the total. Two-bedroom apartments accounted for 49,894 contracts (23%), while studios recorded 48,186 agreements (22%).
Among Dubai’s most active rental locations, Al Warsan First led the market with 20,830 contracts registered year-to-date, followed by Jebel Ali First with 18,478 contracts and Al Barsha South Fourth with 16,489 contracts. Business Bay recorded 13,728 rental agreements during the same period.
Alongside strong rental activity, Dubai’s property sales market recorded 13,872 transactions worth AED34.5 billion in July. Off-plan properties continued to dominate activity, accounting for 9,585 transactions valued at AED20.5 billion, compared with 4,287 resale transactions worth AED14 billion.
Dubai South remained the emirate’s best-performing area by sales volume for the fifth consecutive month, recording 2,351 transactions worth AED2.6 billion. Of these, 2,231 were off-plan sales valued at AED2.3 billion.
July also saw 11,759 apartment sales worth AED17.8 billion, alongside 1,322 villa transactions valued at AED7.8 billion, 268 plot sales worth AED6.9 billion and 515 commercial transactions totalling AED1.9 billion.
Commenting on the market, Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties, said, “The level of rental activity overall is a good sign of market resilience. The volume of renewals alone shows that, regardless of regional uncertainty over the last few months, people still see Dubai as one of the best places in the world to live and work.”
Key Takeaways
Source: fäm Properties market analysis based on DXBinteract data
