Emaar's UAE sales halved in nine months. Ready resales in its communities slowed less than the market
Published
What happened
On 5 November, Emaar Properties reported its results for the first nine months of 2026. Pre-tax profit rose 18% to AED 19.8 billion and revenue rose 13% to AED 37.5 billion. Group property sales were AED 34.7 billion, from 14 launches. The board approved a one-time special dividend of AED 0.5 a share (AED 4.4 billion).
The slowdown is in new sales. Emaar Development, the UAE build-to-sell arm that Emaar offered to buy out on 4 November, sold AED 26.2 billion of property in the nine months, against AED 52.9 billion a year earlier, about half. Its revenue backlog was AED 119.8 billion, against AED 120.4 billion a year earlier. The company says sales "reflected a measured pace in response to evolving geopolitical dynamics".
What the DLD data says
Emaar's sales figure is mostly new homes sold by the developer. The DLD data we index shows the other side of the market: ready resales, finished homes sold by their owners. We compared the last 6 months to 26 October with the 6 months before, in seven large communities that Emaar developed, some of them with partners.
| Community | Ready resales, last 6 months | 6 months before | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Dubai | 572 | 738 | −22.5% |
| Dubai Creek Harbour | 441 | 578 | −23.7% |
| Dubai Hills Estate | 372 | 375 | −0.8% |
| The Valley | 116 | 138 | −15.9% |
| Arabian Ranches | 98 | 143 | −31.5% |
| Arabian Ranches 2 | 27 | 36 | −25.0% |
| Arabian Ranches 3 | 114 | 55 | +107.3% |
| Seven communities | 1,740 | 2,063 | −15.7% |
- Resales slowed everywhere, but less here. In 23 other large communities we track (Business Bay, JVC, Arjan, Al Furjan, Town Square and others), ready resales fell 29.7% over the same months, from 8,199 to 5,767. We left Dubai Marina, also an Emaar community, out of both groups.
- Arabian Ranches 3 is the exception. Its resales doubled, probably because more of its homes were handed over and can now be resold.
- Season matters. The last 6 months include the summer, which is usually quieter, so part of the drop is seasonal. That affects both groups in the same way.
What it means
- Two markets. Emaar Development's sales halved by value, while ready resales in its communities fell about 16% by count. The two are not measured the same way, but both point to a slower market, and more so on the developer side.
- Fewer sales, small price moves. As our 5 November note showed, ready prices in six of these communities are 0.7% to 7.1% below a year ago. So far, fewer sales have not come with large price cuts.
- Check what launched next door. In Creek Harbour, Dubai Hills and The Valley, most sales in the last 12 months were off-plan. A ready resale there competes with new launches and their payment plans.
Sources
- TradeArabia, 5 November 2026, for Emaar Properties' results; Dubai Week and Emaar Development's press release on Zawya, 5 November 2026, for Emaar Development's sales and backlog (links above).
- FairSqft analysis of Dubai Land Department open data (transactions) published on data.dubai, as of 26 October 2026. Method: https://fairsqft.com/method/