Dubai registers jump in $10m home sales in first quarter on influx of ultra-rich

Demand for luxury homes remains strong in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dubai registered 111 sales of homes valued at more than $10 million in the first quarter of 2025 as the demand for luxury homes remains strong in the emirate amid an influx of ultra-wealthy individuals.

It marks the "highest Q1 result on record" and a 5.7 per cent annual increase with a total value of $1.9 billion, Knight Frank said in a report on Tuesday. Palm Jumeirah remained the top destination for $10 million-plus homes, with 34 transactions worth $562.8 million in the first quarter.

Emirates Hills followed in second place with 15 sales, totalling $356.7 million. The community also had the most expensive deal of the quarter, a six-bedroom villa that was sold for $106.3 million in January having been initially bought for $6.6 million in 2015.

Dubai also recorded 12 deals on homes valued at more than $25 million in the first quarter, deals which “reflect continued appetite from global UHNWIs (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) seeking one-of-a-kind trophy homes”, Knight Frank said.

“Dubai’s luxury residential market continues to defy gravity. Demand, particularly from international buyers, remains unrivalled on the global stage,” Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research, Mena, at Knight Frank, said. The emirate has “firmly established itself as the global epicentre for ultra-luxury real estate – surpassing legacy markets like New York, London and Hong Kong".

Last year, Dubai was ranked first in the world, both in terms of the value and volume of $10 million-plus home sales, with 435 deals worth $7.1 billion.

The influx of high-net-worth individuals has been boosting Dubai's property market, which has been benefiting from government initiatives such as residency permits for retired and remote workers, expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme and overall growth in the UAE’s economy on diversification efforts.

Last year, the UAE welcomed 7,200 millionaires, building on an influx of 4,700 in 2023 and 5,200 in 2022, Knight Frank said, citing data from Henley & Partners. The total number of dollar millionaires in the UAE stood at 130,500 at the end of December, ranking the Emirates as the 14th-largest wealth market globally.

The number of dollar millionaires in the UAE has soared by 98 per cent over the past decade, making it the second-fastest-growing wealth market worldwide. The greatest proportion of inbound millionaires come from India, followed by the Middle East, Russia and CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States), the UK and Europe, Knight Frank added.

Alongside the rise of UHNWI in the region, Knight Frank also said the growth of family offices is supporting the real estate market. The appetite for purchasing real estate in Dubai "grew exponentially with levels of personal wealth", rising from 28 per cent of those worth $2 million-$5 million to reach 78 per cent for those with more than $15 million, the report said.

Among UHNWI considering a Dubai property purchase, 25 per cent are prepared to spend $60 million to $80 million on a home in the city, while 16 per cent are willing to consider properties worth more than $80 million. "This level of demand is unsurprisingly putting pressure on supply," it said.

In the Dh2,000 to 3,000 per square foot range, which includes many prime and high-end properties, delivery of new homes fell by 57 per cent year on year in the first quarter. A similar trend was observed in the Dh3,000 to 5,000 per square foot segment, where supply was down 39 per cent.

The most pronounced shortfall, however, was in the ultra-luxury sector. In 2023, virtually no new villas were delivered in the Dh5,000-plus per square foot category. In 2024, just 16 villas entered the market at this price level, "underscoring the scarcity of Dubai’s most exclusive residential offerings", Knight Frank said.