#Dubai Real Estate Market Hits Record Home Sales - Bloomberg

Dubai Real Estate Market Hits Record Home Sales - Bloomberg

If you think Alex Zagrebelny’s latest project sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, you wouldn’t be wrong.

The Dubai-based developer is constructing Eywa, a 21-story residential tower designed to look like the Hallelujah Mountains from the Avatar movies. Other elements of the plan borrow from principles of Vastu Shastra, an architectural science with origins in ancient India: Embedded in the building’s foundation is a 14-tonne pyramid fashioned from 1,450 crystals and semiprecious stones. When construction wraps up in 2026, bedrooms will be lined with materials that supposedly protect residents from electromagnetic fields.

“I use architecture and design as a language to speak with the outside world about what should not be lost for future generations,” Zagrebelny says. Already, he’s sold 16 homes in Eywa, at prices from $2.7 million to $7.5 million.

Eywa is the sort of development that has some observers wondering if the Dubai real estate market—which has been on a tear since 2020—is a bubble ready to burst. Only time will tell if the outlandish project and others like it are warning signs of a coming slowdown or successfully timed entries into a city that’s desperate to shed its reputation for boom-and-bust real estate cycles.

Both outcomes seem equally possible. On the one hand, foreign professionals continue to pour into Dubai, pushing prices ever higher. Cheerleaders for the emirate are quick to point out that lenders have maintained stringent rules and will only offer mortgages for about 80% of a home’s value—a sign that the market and regulation around it are maturing. Plus, developers are required to pay for land in full before construction even starts.

But critics note that the booming property market has lured scores of new developers, with nearly a quarter of a million homes on track for completion in the next few years. That would represent a 30% increase in the supply of housing in Dubai, according to real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

“Almost every week, we meet three new developers that we’ve never heard of before,” says Sean McCauley, chief executive officer of Devmark, a consultant for developers in Dubai. Land prices have surged, he says, pressuring potential margins for new players. “Increasingly, it’ll be hard to make the math work.”

Dubai’s housing boom began in late 2020, when the United Arab Emirates’ high Covid-19 vaccination rates, rapid reopening to tourists and liberal visa policies began to attract more foreign buyers. Wealthy investors from Russia, crypto millionaires and Indians seeking second homes flooded in.

This year the volatility caused by US President Donald Trump’s global trade war has further lifted the market. The administration’s policies have sent the dollar tumbling to its worst first-half performance since 1973. Because the dirham is pegged to the dollar, the weakened currency has given foreign buyers—especially those from European countries—far more buying power.

“This is the biggest market driver,” says Taimur Khan, the head of research for the Middle East and Africa at JLL. “You get a massive discount. And if the dollar recovers, you get another bump up on any exit returns you might have.”

Thanks to those factors, there’s never been a better time to be in real estate in Dubai. Home prices have soared 70% since the end of 2019, according to JLL data. The city saw 51,000 home sales in the second quarter of 2025—a new high, according to Knight Frank, a real estate consulting firm. That brought the total value of transactions for the year through June to $73 billion, a 41% increase from the same period in 2024.

Real estate firms are hosting expos in London, Paris and other major cities and pitching wealthy Europeans on the merits of buying a second home in the emirate. “There’s good hospitals, good schools and good infrastructure—Dubai ticks all those boxes in spades,” says Michael Belton, chief executive officer of the property firm Mered, which is constructing a 66-floor residential tower with 310 units that’s scheduled to be completed in 2027. The development’s 40th floor will offer an infinity pool with panoramic sea views; Mered says it’s already sold nearly half the tower.

Still, it’s not hard to find lingering symbols of the real estate excesses that brought Dubai to the brink of bankruptcy less than 20 years ago.

Take “the World”—an archipelago of 300 manmade islands in the Persian Gulf that state-owned developer Nakheel PJSC spent $13 billion to create in 2008. Tumbling prices and mounting debt at parent company Dubai World eventually led to a bailout from neighboring Abu Dhabi. The developer was forced to suspend work on all its projects once the global financial crisis hit later that year.

Sales ground to a halt. Dubai’s leaders ultimately had to call time on what had been a decade-long, debt-fueled building and acquisition spree. The emirate later suffered a second housing bust after the price of oil crashed in 2014, further delaying developments across the city.

That history is not deterring developers today. Josef Kleindienst has spent nearly two decades developing the Heart of Europe—a $6 billion collection of properties built across six of the World’s islands that promises to combine “the best of European culture, architecture and hospitality” with the luxury and white sand beaches Dubai is known for. In 2024, Kleindienst was finally able to open the project’s first hotel, the Voco Monaco Dubai, an InterContinental Hotels Group property that features a “raining street” where guests cool off on the way to a French Riviera-style beach club. Next up: replicating the watery streets of Venice.

Supporters note that Dubai’s market fundamentals are sounder today than they were in 2008. Two decades ago, the real estate mania was largely fueled by foreign investors flocking to the emirates to make speculative property bets. This time, wealthy foreigners are increasingly making Dubai their home, at least for a while.

“The market is increasingly being shaped by genuine buyers rather than speculators,” says Will McKintosh, a regional partner for the Middle East and North Africa at Knight Frank. He notes that less than 5% of buyers now resell their properties within 12 months of purchase, compared with 25% in 2008. Real estate leaders are hoping more of them will stay for the long haul or even choose Dubai for retirement.

Despite facing years of regulatory obstacles and delays, Kleindienst says he thinks it’s only a matter of time before projects like his find their audience. He’s unfazed by the prospect of another potential real estate bust. “Dubai has its speed—the idea of these islands, they’re not walking away,” he says. “It’s only the question, does it come sooner or later? But it’ll come.”

Mubadala, Cain Venture Aims to Spend Billions on Luxury Property - Bloomberg

Mubadala, Cain Venture Aims to Spend Billions on Luxury Property - Bloomberg

Mubadala Investment Co.’s asset management unit is teaming up with Cain International on a new venture that seeks to deploy billions of dollars into global luxury real estate, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mubadala Capital and Cain, a $13 billion asset manager, have each committed new capital to the partnership, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Their partnership will seek to bolster and expand some of Cain and Mubadala Capital’s existing portfolios, while seeking to make new investments into luxury property, the people said.

Representatives for Mubadala Capital and Cain declined to comment.

Cain is a partnership between Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Goldstein and billionaire Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries. Goldstein spoke about the partnership with Mubadala Capital in a recent Bloomberg TV interview without disclosing details, and the firms are both investors in luxury hotel brand Aman Group.

The new partnership comes amid a boom in luxury real estate, which outperformed traditional property markets through 2024 and in the early months of this year, according to Sotheby’s International Realty. The outlook remains resilient, with investors viewing upscale properties as a haven even amid financial volatility, the firm said in a report released in June.

For Mubadala Capital, the venture is the latest sign of its global ambitions. Earlier this year, the firm sold a minority stake in itself to TWG Global, an investment firm led by Guggenheim Partners founder Mark Walter and financier Thomas Tull, in a deal that included a $10 billion syndicated investment in TWG. That came soon after the asset manager snapped up Canadian mutual fund manager CI Financial Corp. in one of the largest privatizations by an Abu Dhabi entity.

Cain, for its part, has increasingly bet on high-end hotels. It’s developing the ultra-luxury One Beverly Hills complex that’s set to feature an Aman hotel and branded residences, a botanical garden, spa and retail space.

The firm is also nearing a deal to acquire the Manhattan hotel once known as the Trump SoHo, Bloomberg News reported in July. Its global portfolio spans a diverse range of sectors, across residential, hospitality, commercial and mixed-use developments.

Most Gulf bourses fall on lower oil, corporate earnings | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses fall on lower oil, corporate earnings | Reuters

Most Gulf equities ended lower on Tuesday, led by the Dubai index, as investors evaluated a slew of mixed earnings reports, while weaker oil prices also weighed on market sentiment.

Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI), opens new tab slipped 0.6%, after two straight sessions of gains, with almost all sectors in the negative territory. Toll operator Salik (SALIK.DU), opens new tab dropped 2.6% and blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab lost 1.3%.

"The market could remain exposed to a correction after weeks of gains and a period of consolidation", said Joseph Dahrieh, managing principal at Tickmill.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI), opens new tab was down for a fourth day, falling 0.2% to 10,770, its lowest level in nearly two months. IT, materials and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest losers while communication, industry and utilities gained.

Methanol Chemicals Co (2001.SE), opens new tab slumped 9.9% after the chemicals producer posted a second-quarter net loss. Qassim Cement (3040.SE), opens new tab slid 3.6% after reporting a 14.5% fall in second-quarter net profit on Monday.

Oil prices, a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, slid 0.6% amid uncertainty ahead of a crucial meet between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.

Brent was trading at $66.2 a barrel by 1250 GMT.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab fell for a fifth day, down 0.1%. E7 Group (E7.AD), opens new tab dropped 2.7% after the printing and packaging solutions provider reported an 82.1% drop in second-quarter net profit, while investment firm Agility Global (AGILITY.AD), opens new tab shed 0.9% as it posted a 19% decrease in second-quarter profit attributable.

In contrast, ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOCLS.AD), opens new tab climbed 7.5%, its biggest intraday percentage gain in over two years.

Maritime logistics company ADNOCLS reported a 14% rise in second quarter net profit, beating expectations per data compiled by LSEG.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI), opens new tab rose 0.4%, with most constituents posting gains, led by communication and finance shares. Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the region's largest lender, added 0.7% and Qatar Navigation (QNNC.QA), opens new tab advanced 2.4%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab was up 0.3%, lifted by a 1% gain in Emaar Misr for Development (EMFD.CA), opens new tab and a 1.3% rise in Belton Financial Holding (BTFH.CA), opens new tab.

Financial services provider Belton reported on Monday its second-quarter net profit attributable has almost doubled.