Of the 96,585 homes due for completion in 2026, developers have sold 80,127 units, representing an absorption rate of 82.9 percent, according to market analysis from fäm Properties released on August 21. The figure includes 91,209 apartments with 82 percent absorption and 5,376 villas recording 95 percent pre-sales.
Dubai currently has 564,072 residential properties under construction, with the majority scheduled for handover by 2028. Buyers have already purchased 425,863 of these units, delivering an overall absorption rate of 75.5 percent across the emirate’s development pipeline.
Villas have attracted particularly strong demand. Of 68,297 villas currently being built, developers have sold 58,349 units, achieving an 85.4 percent absorption rate. Apartments account for the bulk of construction activity, with 495,775 units in progress and 367,514 already sold, representing 74.1 percent absorption.
Communities Recording Full Absorption
Data from DXBinteract shows that several communities have reached 100 percent absorption for units scheduled for 2026 delivery. Al Wasl recorded complete pre-sales for 637 apartments due this year, while villa communities including Wadi Al Safa 5 with 854 units, Nad Al Sheba First with 235 homes and Al Hebiah Sixth with 476 properties have sold their entire 2026 inventory.
Palm Jumeirah has sold 93.5 percent of 2,397 apartments scheduled for completion in 2026, while Jumeirah Lakes Towers recorded 92.8 percent absorption across 2,324 units due for handover this year.
Downtown Dubai has 6,248 apartments under construction with 92.2 percent already sold. Among the 3,981 apartments scheduled for handover there in 2026, the absorption rate rises to 96.6 percent. Business Bay maintains a pipeline of 30,317 apartments currently being built, of which 82.8 percent have been sold, with absorption reaching 88.7 percent among the 16,938 apartments due for delivery this year.
Investors commit to buying properties before completion because they have confidence in Dubai, its transparent regulatory framework and the consistent quality being delivered by developers.
Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties, attributed the strong pre-sales to buyer confidence in the emirate’s regulatory environment and developer track record.
Villa Communities Lead Absorption
Several villa locations are recording absorption rates above 94 percent across homes still under construction. Al Hebiah Fifth has sold 98.7 percent of 2,060 villas, while Nad Al Sheba First reached 98.2 percent across 1,569 units. Wadi Al Safa 5 recorded 96.4 percent absorption across 8,216 villas, while Al Yufrah stands at 94.7 percent across 6,429 units and Dubai South at 94.5 percent across 5,698 properties.
Other areas showing high apartment absorption rates include Ras Al Khor, where developers have sold 93.5 percent of 6,950 units, and Al Barsha South 2, where the rate stands at 85 percent across 12,655 apartments.
The high absorption rates coincide with accelerating supply. Dubai completed 24,537 new units in the first half of 2026, up 36 percent from 18,043 during the same period in 2025. A total of 104 real estate projects were completed during the six months, compared with 75 in the first half of 2025, an increase of 38.7 percent. Their combined investment value exceeded Dh111 billion, up 52 percent from Dh73 billion year-on-year.
Completed built-up area increased 23.4 percent to 1.95 million square metres, compared with 1.58 million square metres in the first half of 2025. The value of land allocated to projects rose to Dh19.46 billion from Dh8.27 billion a year earlier, marking a 135 percent increase.
Al Msaddi noted that Dubai’s population, which has surpassed 4.58 million, and its base of more than 80,000 millionaires continue to support demand across residential segments. The absorption figures indicate that buyers remain confident in committing capital to properties ahead of completion, underpinning developer cash flows and sustaining construction activity across the emirate’s expanding development sector.
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