Dubai, UAE – Bayut, the UAE's leading property portal, has unveiled its comprehensive report on Dubai's most-searched real estate areas for 2024. The findings reveal a sustained rise in property prices across popular neighbourhoods, driven by robust demand, a steady supply of new inventory and Dubai’s growing allure for high-net-worth individuals attracted by its economic prospects and favourable tax policies.

Trends in Property Buying in Dubai

  • Bayut's data has revealed significant price increases for both apartments and villas in popular Dubai neighbourhoods, particularly for villas in Arabian Ranches, which saw rises of up to 56%.
  • Buyers and investors interested in affordable property options have shown greater inclination towards areas such as Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai Sports City, DAMAC Hills 2 and Dubailand. For mid-range property, buyers have focused on neighbourhoods such as Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, Al Furjan and The Springs. Luxury investors have shown preference for Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Hills Estate and DAMAC Hills.
  • Transactional prices for affordable apartments in the most-searched-for areas have increased up to 26%, while villa prices showed upticks of over 100% with Dubailand recording the most significant spike due to an increased demand for budget-friendly homes and residential plots.
  • In the mid-tier segment, transactional prices for both apartments and villas have risen by between 7% and 40%. The highest price movements were recorded in Jumeirah Lake Towers, where inventory is being priced at a premium to tackle the increased demand for centrally-located apartments.
  • The luxury property market has seen consistent increases, with prices climbing by 7% to 31%, with the steepest hikes recorded in Dubai Hills Estate. Transactional prices for apartments in Palm Jumeirah have recorded an 8.4% decrease as per the DLD.
  • As per Bayut’s Dubai Transactions data, derived from carefully analysed information provided by the Dubai Land Department (DLD), there were over 169,000 property sale transactions recorded in 2024, valued at AED 488 billion until 10th December 2024. The ready segment accounted for over 67,000 transactions exceeding AED 274 billion, while the off-plan segment achieved over 102,000 transactions worth AED 213 billion.

 

Return on Investment (ROI) Trends for Dubai Properties

  • Affordable apartments in areas such as Dubai Investments Park (DIP), Discovery Gardens and Liwan have offered the highest yields of 9% to 11%. Mid-tier communities such as Living Legends, Motor City and Al Furjan have recorded ROI percentages above 8.7%. Luxury apartments in Al Sufouh, Green Community and Al Barari have reported rental yields between 7% and 9%.
  • For villas, Dubai Industrial City, International City and DAMAC Hills 2 have led the affordable segment with ROIs above 6%. Mid-tier villa communities, including Jumeirah Village Circle, Al Furjan and Jumeirah Village Triangle, offered returns of between 6% and 8%. Luxury villa communities including The Sustainable City, Al Barari and Tilal Al Ghaf recorded ROIs exceeding 6%.

 

Trends for Renting Properties in Dubai

  • Bayut's data has also indicated significant rental price hikes across all segments. Subsequent to increased demand, the rents for affordable apartments have risen by up to 48%, with the largest increase reported for 2-bedroom flats in Deira. Mid-tier apartment rentals have increased by up to 41%, highlighting the increasing demand for centrally-located properties, particularly in JLT. Luxury apartment rents have seen growth of between 5% and 25%.
  • Villa rental prices have also experienced growth, with affordable villa rentals increasing by up to 44%. The mid-tier villa rental market has also recorded upticks of up to 45%, particularly for 4-bedroom units in Town Square, with more people desiring suburban properties in self-sustaining communities. With the demand for luxury properties at an all-time high, upscale villa rentals have surged by up to 60%, with Jumeirah registering the highest increase for its larger 6-bedroom units.
  • Popular areas for affordable rentals included Deira and Bur Dubai for apartments and DAMAC Hills 2 and Mirdif for villas. In the mid-tier market, Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC) and Business Bay have dominated apartment rentals, while JVC and Town Square were preferred for villas. Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai have continued to be sought-after for luxury apartments, while Dubai Hills Estate and Al Barsha have topped the villa rental market.
  • Transactional rental prices in affordable areas rose by between 5% and 19%, while mid-tier and luxury segments have recorded upticks of up to 16%.

Dubai's real estate growth is driven by a combination of favourable government policies, a thriving economy and increasing global interest from high-net-worth individuals. Additionally, Dubai’s focus on sustainable and technologically advanced developments has further enhanced its appeal. The luxury property segment, affordable housing and high-demand off-plan projects present lucrative investment opportunities, delivering robust rental yields and significant potential for long-term capital appreciation. This dynamic environment positions Dubai as a prime destination for diversified real estate investments.

Commenting on the findings, Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut and Head of Dubizzle Group MENA, said:

"Dubai’s real estate market is buzzing right now and it’s easy to see why. Luxury properties in areas such as Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Hills Estate are breaking records, with buyers from Europe and Asia flocking to secure ultra-high-end homes. At the same time, we’re seeing tremendous interest in emerging areas such as Dubai South and Dubai Creek Harbour, driven by improved infrastructure and strategic locations.

With over 4 million expats expected to be residing in Dubai by 2025, the surging demand for housing is likely to continue apace. This presents exciting opportunities for everyone in the industry. Dubai is cementing its place as a global lifestyle and investment destination and I feel the next few years are poised to redefine the market.

At Bayut, we’re leading this transformation with our innovative tools and features. TruBrokerTM connects buyers with trusted professionals, while Dubai Transactions provides transparency on market trends, and TruEstimateTM ensures accurate property valuations. These solutions are empowering buyers, sellers and agents to make informed decisions and to navigate Dubai’s evolving property landscape with increased confidence."

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Note to Editor: For an accurate representation of price changes, this report compares the average price-per-square-foot in an area to analyse sales trends for villas and apartments in 2024 to those observed in 2023. These prices are however subject to change, based on the building, amenities, developer and other deciding factors. For the rental properties, the report compares the average cost for individual unit types between the two periods, in popular Dubai neighbourhoods.

Disclaimer: The above report is based on prices advertised by real estate agencies on behalf of their clients on Bayut.com, and is not representative of actual real estate transactions conducted in Dubai except for instances where the DLD has been quoted.

About Bayut:

Bayut is the uncontested market-leader when it comes to real estate portals in the UAE. With 4000+ real estate agencies choosing Bayut as their advertising partner, with over 400 million page views per year. +87.2 million visits, Bayut has successfully established itself as the number one platform people trust when it comes to property search.

A technology driven platform, Bayut is known to keep innovation at its core with updated, detailed transactional and advertised insights, extensive area and building guides, and revolutionary new products and features, allowing end-users to make the most well-researched decisions when searching for properties in the UAE.

Since Bayut was established in 2008, the company has seen accelerated growth, by focusing on increasing not only the number of real estate partners it works with, but also obtaining substantial traffic growth to claim the status of market leaders in the competitive real estate portal landscape in the UAE, with an extensive portfolio across all seven emirates.

Haider Ali Khan joined Bayut in 2014 as the CEO and the company has continued to showcase very high growth over the past years including closing multiple rounds of funding from top Venture Capital firms such as Naspers, KCK, Exor, and other notable names.

Bayut is a part of the Dubizzle Group, formerly known as Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG), which also operates the largest property classified sites in. In April 2020, the group merged with the Netherlands-based OLX group in certain key markets, and was valued at $1 Billion, giving it the coveted unicorn status. The group now also owns and operates dubizzle in the UAE, Our bespoke classifieds portals are among the strongest brands in our markets, primarily encompassing the Greater MENA and South Asia regions. Our flagship ventures include dubizzle and Bayut in the UAE and the Greater MENA Region, as well as Zameen and OLX in Pakistan.

For media enquiries, please contact: bayut@houseofcomms.com