Dubai Off-Plan Market Sees High Absorption: 75.5% of Under-Construction Homes Already Sold

Dubai's real estate market continues to exhibit robust demand, with the majority of homes under construction already finding buyers. A recent analysis by fäm Properties reveals that 75.5% of the 564,072 residential properties currently being built across the emirate, primarily slated for handover by 2028, have been sold off-plan.

Strong Absorption Rates Across Property Types and Handover Years

The report highlights varying but consistently high absorption rates across different property types. Apartments show an overall absorption rate of 74.1%, with 367,514 of 495,775 units sold. Villas demonstrate even stronger demand at 85.4%, with 58,349 of 68,297 units already purchased.

For properties due for handover this year, the figures are even more striking: 82.9% of the 96,585 homes to be delivered in 2026 are already sold. This includes 82% of apartments and 95% of villas scheduled for completion this year.

Key Areas See Near-Total Sell-Outs

Certain residential areas are experiencing nearly 100% absorption rates for homes set to be delivered in 2026. Data from DXBinteract shows this trend for:

• Apartments in Al Wasl (637 units)
• Villas in Wadi Al Safa 5 (854 units), Nad Al Sheba First (235 units), and Al Hebiah Sixth (476 units)

High absorption rates are also noted in prominent locations. On Palm Jumeirah, 93.5% of 2,397 apartments due this year are sold, and 92.8% of 2,324 units in Jumeirah Lakes Towers have been purchased. Downtown Dubai records 92.2% of its 6,248 under-construction apartments sold, with 96.6% of the 3,981 units for 2026 already off-market. Business Bay follows a similar pattern, with 82.8% of 30,317 apartments sold, including 88.7% of the 16,938 for 2026 delivery.

Other areas with high apartment absorption rates include Ras Al Khor (93.5% of 6,950 units) and Al Barsha South 2 (85% of 12,655 units). For villas, areas like Al Hebiah Fifth (98.7% of 2,060), Nad Al Sheba First (98.2% of 1,569), Wadi Al Safa 5 (96.4% of 8,216), Dubai South (94.5% of 5,698), and Al Yufrah (94.7% of 6,429) also demonstrate strong buyer confidence.

Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties, attributes this robust market performance to investor confidence in Dubai's transparent regulatory framework, consistent quality from developers, and the city's growing population, which now exceeds 4.58 million, including over 80,000 millionaires.