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Annual report

Dubai property market — 2012

Every figure below comes from sale transactions registered with the Dubai Land Department and dated inside 2012. Mortgages and gifts are excluded; the register's own record of a sale is the only source.

Sales36,456Registered in 2012up28.5% vs the year before
Total valueAED 73.35BRegistered in 2012Across 139 communities
Price per sqftAED 821/sqftMedian across 2012up3.1% vs the year before
Sale priceAED 1.10MMedian across 201211% sold off-plan

In a sentence

The Land Department registered 36,456 property sales in 2012, worth AED 73.35B in total, across 139 communities. That is 28% more than the year before.

The median sale was AED 1,097,800 at AED 821/sqft, 3.1% above the year before. 11% of sales were off-plan.

Marsa Dubai was the busiest community with 6,325 registered sales, and also took the most money at AED 11.19B.

Against the previous year, Al Barsha South Fifth rose 168% to 590 sales, while Al Hebiah First fell 76% to 205.

Sales by year

Price per square foot by year

Median price per sqft

Where the sales were

The fifteen communities with the most registered sales in 2012, and how each moved against the year before.

CommunitySalesvs priorTotal valueMedian pricePrice/sqftOff-plan
Marsa Dubai6,325+19.1%AED 11.19BAED 1.27MAED 1,032/sqft12%
Al Thanyah Fifth6,090+32.7%AED 7.71BAED 812KAED 738/sqft4%
Business Bay3,156+60.3%AED 4.75BAED 1.21MAED 1,163/sqft19%
Burj Khalifa2,677+38.6%AED 7.40BAED 1.86MAED 1,666/sqft36%
Al Warsan First2,653+43.9%AED 984.71MAED 265KAED 419/sqft1%
Al Thanyah Third1,676-6.4%AED 2.32BAED 1.05MAED 951/sqft11%
Palm Jumeirah1,540-4.5%AED 6.60BAED 2.60MAED 1,269/sqft17%
Al Barsha South Fourth1,474+44.5%AED 1.48BAED 775KAED 784/sqft10%
Wadi Al Safa 51,339+34.8%AED 1.72BAED 750KAED 632/sqft1%
Nadd Hessa1,125+27.8%AED 901.49MAED 501KAED 632/sqft8%
Al Thanayah Fourth1,066+5.3%AED 3.88BAED 1.91MAED 603/sqft0%
Jabal Ali First771+24.0%AED 644.37MAED 390KAED 583/sqft0%
Al Hebiah Fourth670+44.4%AED 1.00BAED 780KAED 654/sqft27%
Wadi Al Safa 6646+4.4%AED 1.91BAED 2.66MAED 534/sqft2%
Me'Aisem First592+13.8%AED 424.92MAED 536KAED 926/sqft7%

Where the money went

Ranked by total registered value rather than count — a different list, and the one that shows where capital actually landed.

CommunityValueSales
Marsa DubaiAED 11.19B6,325
Al Thanyah FifthAED 7.71B6,090
Burj KhalifaAED 7.40B2,677
Palm JumeirahAED 6.60B1,540
Business BayAED 4.75B3,156
Al Thanayah FourthAED 3.88B1,066
Al Thanyah ThirdAED 2.32B1,676
Wadi Al Safa 6AED 1.91B646
Wadi Al Safa 5AED 1.72B1,339
Al Barsha South FourthAED 1.48B1,474

Biggest movers

Change in registered sales against the previous year. Limited to communities with at least 50 sales in both — below that a swing is noise.

CommunitySalesChange
Al Barsha South Fifth590+168.2%
Al Jadaf132+94.1%
Al Ruwayyah161+80.9%
Al Hebiah First205-76.4%
Business Bay3,156+60.3%
Al Thanyah First336+60.0%
Al Barsha South Fourth1,474+44.5%
Al Hebiah Fourth670+44.4%
Al Warsan First2,653+43.9%
Burj Khalifa2,677+38.6%

The largest sales of 2012

Each row links to its own register record, so any figure in this report can be traced to the transactions behind it.

Registered property transactions from the Dubai Land Department
DateCommunityProject / buildingTypeBedsSizePrice/sqftPrice
22 Nov 2012Wadi Al Safa 7Arabian Ranches-Casa CommunityArabian Ranches IILandExisting PropertiesNot specified18,048,563 sqftAED 29/sqftAED 525,127,204
20 Sept 2012Wadi Al Safa 4—LandExisting PropertiesNot specified2,689,090 sqftAED 149/sqftAED 400,000,000
12 Jan 2012Marsa Dubai—Jumeriah Beach Residence - JBRBuildingExisting PropertiesNot specified65,083 sqftAED 5,455/sqftAED 355,000,000
25 Jun 2012Al Safouh Second—Site ABuildingExisting PropertiesNot specified128,412 sqftAED 2,593/sqftAED 333,000,000
17 May 2012Trade Center Second—LandExisting PropertiesNot specified25,000 sqftAED 12,500/sqftAED 312,500,000
24 Dec 2012Burj Khalifa—Business BayLandExisting PropertiesNot specified57,118 sqftAED 5,427/sqftAED 310,000,000
19 Jan 2012Um Hurair Second—Dubai Health Care City Phase 1BuildingExisting PropertiesNot specified176,973 sqftAED 1,695/sqftAED 300,000,000
24 Dec 2012Al Yelayiss 4TEEMA 1 & TEEMA 2LandExisting PropertiesNot specified4,108,380 sqftAED 70/sqftAED 287,586,982
4 Apr 2012Palm JumeirahEOMEPalm JumeirahLandExisting PropertiesNot specified671,326 sqftAED 372/sqftAED 250,000,000
20 Sept 2012Wadi Al Safa 4—LandExisting PropertiesNot specified1,441,370 sqftAED 173/sqftAED 250,000,000

Source: Dubai Land Department open data, retrieved from the Digital Dubai data.dubai platform. Figures cover registered transactions and Ejari-registered tenancy contracts, and are statistical summaries of public record — not a valuation of any individual property. Registration data can be amended or backdated by the source after first publication.