Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Dubai has 392 real estate projects under development

By Pramod Kumar
Person, Worker, Helmet Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
Nine real estate projects worth AED4.06 billion were completed in Dubai in the first half of 2023
  • 42,583 real estate units registered in first half of 2023
  • Surge in number of real estate and brokerage licences issued
  • Dubai Marina tops transaction value list at AED24.96bn

Nine real estate projects worth AED4.06 billion ($1.11 billion) were completed in the first half of 2023, according to the Dubai Land Department (DLD).

The emirate has 392 real estate projects currently under development, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, citing DLD data.

The first half of 2023 saw the registration of 42,583 real estate units, comprising 47,187 apartments worth AED96 billion and 5,546 villas worth AED15 billion. 

The number of real estate developers registered hit 174.

The rental market saw a robust performance in the first six months, with total lease contracts at 355,515 in the first half. Among these contracts, 166,368 were new contracts, while 189,147 were lease renewals. 

The DLD issued 4,416 real estate licences during the first six months. Real estate licences registered a growth of 55 percent year on year, with brokerage licences in the sale and purchase of properties reaching the highest at 1,592, followed by brokerage in rental properties at 1,008.

Dubai’s real estate sector reported 76,119 deals worth AED283 billion in the first half. Al Barsha South Fourth topped the list of top 10 areas for the volume of transactions with 7,228 transactions, followed by Dubai Marina (6,618) and Business Bay (4,792).

The top 10 areas in terms of transaction value include Dubai Marina, topping at AED24.96 billion, followed by Wadi Al Safa 3 (AED20.99 billion) and Palm Jumeirah (AED19.43 billion).

Dubai’s real estate market is experiencing soaring demand but the supply shortfall from the Covid pandemic is still having an impact and is likely to remain for at least another two years, experts told AGBI earlier this month.

Betterhomes, one of the largest and oldest real estate agencies in Dubai, reported that it has seen an 82 percent increase in buyer leads this year, while the number of property listings was down by 4 percent year on year in the second quarter.

As a result, the number of interested buyers per listing has risen from an average of 10 in the second half of 2022 to double that, peaking at 30 in April.

Dubai’s population is 3.6 million, up from 3.36 million in 2019. As demand for homes has risen, the industry has been trying to catch up and boost supply.

Betterhomes said the first quarter of 2023 saw 5,000 new homes completed. This rose to 12,000 in the second quarter and 30,000 are expected to be ready for occupants by the end of the year.

It is predicted that 50,000 homes will be completed next year. But Liam Dawett from Betterhomes said that Dubai does not have a good track record when it comes to delivering projects on time. He estimates that a quarter of the homes promised will not be completed on time.

“A lot of projects that were meant to have actually launched in 2021 got delayed until about now and we’re just starting to see the catch-up,” Dawett said.

“I would assume that a lot of projects that were meant to be handed over this year have been pushed forward into next year.”

Latest articles

Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) over the disputed lease

Kuwait’s Agility pays out $30m over scrap site dispute

Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) after losing a 2021 court case over leasing a plot of land in Kuwait used as a scrap site. “With this payment, the company will have fully executed the aforementioned ruling in favour of the Public Authority for Industry,” Agility said […]

The Rolls Building in London, where high-value commercial cases are heard. The Kuwait pension fund trial is expected to last one year

Kuwait pension fund’s $1bn lawsuit begins in London

Kuwait’s public pension fund has accused asset manager Man Group, Swiss bank EFG and others of laundering bribes paid to its late director as a $1 billion trial begins at London’s High Court. The Public Institution for Social Security, which operates Kuwait’s social security and pension scheme, is also suing the estate of Fahad Al Rajaan, its director from 1984 to […]

Men at the Kuwait City souq. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in 2017

Kuwait gets closer to tapping debt markets to fund infrastructure

Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […]

An egg farm in Brazil. Saudi Arabia wants to reduce its reliance on imported foods

Entaj share price rises 30% in first day on Tadawul

The share price of poultry producer Entaj has risen by 30 percent on its first day of trading, the maximum daily increase allowed on the Saudi stock exchange. Entaj – formally known as the Arabian Company for Agricultural and Industrial Investment – is the fourth company to list on Saudi Arabia’s main market this year. […]

Shareholders in Borouge are due to vote on a proposed dividend and 2.5 percent share buyback on April 7

Borouge proposes share buyback after merger stock slide

Abu Dhabi petrochemicals company Borouge will seek shareholder approval to buy back up to 2.5 percent of its shares, it said on Monday, after its share price plunged on this month’s news of its merger deal with Austria’s Borealis.  Borouge’s majority shareholder Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s OMV said they had agreed to merge […]

Kingdom Holding Company owner Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, pictured last year at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena

Kingdom Holding to pay 2024 dividend despite revenue drop

Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the conglomerate owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, will pay an annual dividend despite a fall in revenues for 2024. The dividend payout will reach SAR1 billion ($267 million), or 2.8 percent of its capital, the investment company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Monday. […]

Workers use an excavator at the Faw port project site in Faw, in the southern province of Basra, January 6, 2016. REUTERS/Essam Al-Sudani

Iraq’s long delayed Faw port nears completion

Iraq’s long-delayed redevelopment and construction of its Faw port near the Arabian Gulf will be completed this year, the Iraq state news agency reported, paving the way for improved access for goods to Iraq and beyond. South Korea’s Daewoo won a $2.6 billion contract to build five main piers at the port in 2010 and […]

Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas

Riyadh Air seeks tie-up with Indian carriers

Saudi Arabia’s newest airline Riyadh Air is exploring potential tie-ups with Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India, CEO Tony Douglas has said. The conversations are at an early stage but offer a “win-win” proposition, he told The Indian Express news daily. India is a “super important” market, Douglas said, as Saudi Arabia expects India to […]

Inflation in Lebanon rose to more than 300% last year, according to the World Bank

Economy in Lebanon remains severely depressed, IMF says

The Lebanese economy remains severely depressed, its condition exacerbated by a two-month war last year between the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israel, in which infrastructure and homes were destroyed, the International Monetary Fund has said. An IMF team visited the country last week and met the new government led by President Joseph Aoun and […]

Jazeera Airways CEO Barathan Pasupathi bought roughly $250,000 worth of shares in the airline

Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways CEO buys shares in his own airline

The CEO of Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways has bought 80,000 shares in his own company as the airline embarks on a five-year plan to boost performance. Barathan Pasupathi purchased the shares between March 9 and 13, according to company disclosures on the Kuwaiti Bourse, buying shares worth $250,000 in a series of transactions last week. Shares […]

S&P Saudi Arabia

S&P raises Saudi Arabia’s rating 0ver ongoing reforms

S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Saudi Arabia’s rating to “A+” from “A” with a stable outlook, citing socioeconomic and capital market reforms. Strong non-oil growth and rising oil volumes from 2025 will support medium-term growth prospects, it said. Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Centre welcomed the upgrade, saying it would allow the kingdom to issue […]

Mubadala has oil and gas investments in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Oman

Adnoc targets Mubadala’s energy assets

State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is reportedly considering acquiring the energy assets of Mubadala Investment Company, one of the emirate’s sovereign wealth funds. Talks between the two companies, which stalled over valuation, are expected to resume soon, possibly after the end of Ramadan, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. The deal was previously valued […]