2026 barometer
Average sale price per square foot and median annual rent in the 12 areas we track. Transactions and tenancy contracts registered with the Dubai Land Department, with the source and period of every figure. Updated 16 September 2026.
The barometer
Areas are sorted by price per square foot, highest first. Each card gives the scope of the figure (apartments, villas or all property types), its source and, when it is published, the median of registered rents.
Transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department, compiled by Property Monitor, 1 January to 6 June 2026. Average sale price per square foot (sq ft), off-plan and secondary sales combined. Rents: Registered tenancy contracts (Ejari, Dubai Land Department), rolling twelve months to July 2026; and registered tenancy contracts (ejari, dubai land department), taken in august 2026 for Palm Jumeirah and Dubai South. Meydan: dubai land department, dubai pulse open dataset, rolling twelve months, taken in september 2026, Mohammed Bin Rashid City scope.
The map
Hover over a pin to see the area’s price per square foot and median rent, then jump to its card in the barometer.
Hover over or tap an area to see its profile, its price per square foot and its median rent.
Mature rental market
Area still being completed
Mature rental market
Mature rental market
Mature rental market
Long-horizon master plan
Area still being completed
Area still being completed
Long-horizon master plan
Area still being completed
Long-horizon master plan
Mature rental market
Reading the figures
Between Palm Jumeirah and Jumeirah Village Circle, the average price per square foot varies by a factor of 2.8 over the same period. That gap does not measure the quality of an investment: it measures the depth of the market, the share of off-plan sales in the transactions, and the distance to employment.
An area’s average price places one area against another. It sets neither the price of a unit, nor its rent, nor its yield. All three are calculated property by property, on registered comparables, and that is what we do for your case.
In Dubai, property is compared per square foot (sq ft), a little under a tenth of a square metre. An area’s average price mixes different sizes, floors and finishes: it places one area against another, it does not tell you what a specific unit is worth.
The prices per square foot above are averages of registered transactions, off-plan and secondary sales combined. In an area still being handed over, the share of off-plan sales pulls the average towards the developers’ current prices.
An area’s median rent mixes studios, two-bedroom flats and villas when the source does not separate them. It ranks areas against each other; it is not divided by the price per square foot to produce a yield, which is calculated property by property.
Every figure carries its source and its period. When the source used does not publish an area for the period, the page says so and prints nothing in its place. We then pull the comparables registered with the DLD for your case.
From average price to yield
The barometer gives the starting point. The yield is calculated after the purchase costs (DLD registration, agency, registration trustee), the service charges per square foot, the vacancy between two tenancies and the property management fees. The two tools below include them, with their assumptions written out.
From transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department, which the government publishes as open data (Dubai Pulse, DXB Interact) and which compilers such as Property Monitor aggregate by area and by period. Rents come from the tenancy contracts registered in the same department’s Ejari system. No figure comes from a listing or an asking price.
Each time quarterly data is published, and at least twice a year. The date shown at the top of the barometer is that of the latest update, not of your visit. This edition is dated 16 September 2026.
Because a median rent across all property types divided by an average price per square foot does not give a yield; it gives a meaningless ratio. A yield is calculated for one property, with its rent, its service charges, its vacancy and its purchase costs. Our calculator does exactly that, line by line, with its assumptions written out.
Neither better nor worse. A high price reflects a deep market, liquid on resale, with a lower gross yield. A low price reflects an accessible entry price, a higher gross yield and a slower resale. The right area is the one that matches your time horizon, not a ranking.
Because the source used for this period does not publish them separately, or publishes them under a different scope. We would rather leave a box empty than fill it with a value from another source or another period, which would make the comparison wrong. For those areas, we pull the comparables on request.
Tool
Tool
Yield
Invest
Invest
Independent advice
Tell us the area, the property type and your budget. We come back with the transactions and rents registered with the DLD for comparable properties, and the net yield that gives for your case.
