October's Dubai sales: ready homes led by value. What ready prices did in Business Bay and JVC
Published
What happened
Dubai Land Department figures reported on 31 October put October's property sales at AED 34.12 billion across 11,610 transactions. The report came out before the month closed, so the final count may be slightly higher. Ready homes made up AED 20.99 billion (4,907 deals) and off-plan AED 13.13 billion (6,698 deals). Off-plan was 58% of deals but only 38% of value. From January to October, Business Bay was the top area by sales value (AED 21.96 billion) and Jumeirah Village Circle was seventh (AED 11.23 billion).
What the DLD data says
We looked at ready sales only: resales of finished homes, which is what you can actually move into or rent out today. The figures cover the 12 months to 26 October.
Ready-sale price index (mix-adjusted, 2025 Q1 = 100):
| Quarter | Business Bay | JVC |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q3 | 100.9 | 101.0 |
| 2025 Q4 | 105.3 | 110.2 |
| 2026 Q1 | 108.8 | 110.4 |
| 2026 Q2 | 101.8 | 107.0 |
| 2026 Q3 | 100.1 | 100.0 |
- Prices are back to where they were a year ago. In 2026 Q3 the index was 0.8% below 2025 Q3 in Business Bay and 1.0% below in JVC, after peaking in 2026 Q1. From that peak, Business Bay is down 8.0% and JVC 9.4%.
- Rents fell faster than prices. The rent index for new Ejari contracts was 13.6% lower year on year in Business Bay and 8.8% lower in JVC.
- Fewer ready resales. In the last 6 months there were 791 ready sales in Business Bay, against 1,122 in the 6 months before (−29.5%). JVC had 1,822 against 2,130 (−14.5%).
What a ready apartment sells and rents for (DLD medians, last 12 months):
| Business Bay sale | Business Bay rent | JVC sale | JVC rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | AED 990,000 | AED 65,000 | AED 610,000 | AED 48,000 |
| 1BR | AED 1,450,000 | AED 90,000 | AED 985,000 | AED 71,000 |
| 2BR | AED 2,260,000 | AED 135,000 | AED 1,450,000 | AED 100,000 |
At these medians, the gross rental yield is 6.0–6.6% in Business Bay and 6.9–7.9% in JVC, before service charges.
What it means
- The headline is volume, not price. Record-looking monthly totals are mostly off-plan by count. In the ready market of these two areas, prices have flattened back to 2025 levels and fewer resales are going through.
- Rents are softer than prices. Anyone buying to let is paying roughly last year's price for a lower rent. Check the service charge before trusting a gross yield.
- Averages hide buildings. Within one area, buildings can sit well above or below the median. Check the specific unit and building before you negotiate.
Sources
- Emirates 24|7, 31 October 2026, citing Dubai Land Department data (link above).
- Offplan Insider, 2 November 2026, for the ready and off-plan split (link above).
- FairSqft analysis of Dubai Land Department open data (transactions and Ejari rent contracts) published on data.dubai, as of 26 October 2026. Method: https://fairsqft.com/method/