Monthly capital gains of 2% and total annual increase of 31.2%
Residential villas in Dubai’s Jumeirah Islands and Palm Jumeirah areas continue to perform exceptionally well, with both areas recording a “golden” start in 2025. Villas in the two areas have tripled in value since the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the strong demand from the wealthy, high net worth individuals and major investors for luxury real estate options in the emirate.
Dubai villas recorded monthly capital gains of 2% as the new year began, and a 31.2% year-on-year increase, with the strongest annual performances coming from villas in Jumeirah Islands (42.4%), Palm Jumeirah (42.1%), Emirates Hills (31.9%) and Dubai Hills Estate (30.4%), according to the ValuStrat January report.
Palm Jumeirah joins Jumeirah Islands in seeing villa values triple since the pandemic.
According to the institution, the Palm Jumeirah area continues to have the highest average price per square foot for villas at AED 6,502 per square foot, an increase of 42.1% year-on-year, while the average price of a standard villa in the area reaches AED 32.5 million. The Emirates Hills area came in second with an average price of AED 4,610 per square foot, an increase of 31.9%, while the average price of a standard villa is AED 78.3 million.
Jumeirah Islands comes in third in terms of price per square foot for villas, but is the best performer after Palm Jumeirah, with an average price of AED 2,920 per square foot, up 42.4% year-on-year, while the average price of a standard villa in the area is AED 15.4 million.
Indicator
At the start of 2025, the ValuStrat Dubai Property Price Index (VPI) stood at 204.2, up 1.7% month-on-month and 27% year-on-year. Villa values rose to 264.2, while apartments reached 165, all benchmarked to 100 in January 2021.
Apartments
Apartment prices rose by 1.4% month-on-month, while recording a 23.1% year-on-year growth. The highest annual capital gains were recorded in The Greens (31.1%), Palm Jumeirah (27.3%), The Views (26.4%), Town Square (25.7%) and Dubailand Residence Complex (25.6%). Notably, three communities – Palm Jumeirah, The Greens and Jumeirah Beach Residence – now have apartment valuations that exceed their peak prices in 2014.
Off-plan home registrations fell 13.5% month-on-month but were up 37.9% year-on-year, accounting for 69.1% of total home sales in January (8,597 transactions). Secondary home transactions fell 5.1% month-on-month but were 7% higher than the same period last year at 3,839 transactions.
luxury homes
There were 22 transactions for ready properties priced above Dh30 million in January, located in Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island, Downtown Dubai and Jumeirah Golf Estates.
January 2025 saw Emaar (17.9%), Damac (12.4%), Nakheel (4.2%), Danube (3.2%), Sobha (3%), Samana (2.8%), Azizi Developments (2.8%), Binghatti (2%) and Ellington Properties (1.9%) top the overall developer sales charts.
Best Sites
The top locations for off-plan residential sales included Dubailand Residence Complex (7.5%), Emaar South (7.1%), Damac Hills 2 (7%), Jumeirah Village Circle (6.4%) and Business Bay (4.7%), with Dubailand Residence Complex breaking its own record for the highest number of ready units sold in a single month. Meanwhile, most of the ready units sold were in Jumeirah Village Circle (9.2%), Business Bay (5.8%), Dubai Marina (5.8%), Downtown Dubai (5.5%) and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (3.6%)
For a detailed perspective on the property market, visit: Dubai - Review 2024 - Outlook 2025
