Mid-Income Surge: The Power Behind Dubai’s Apartment Boom

Property Finder has shared its October 2025 market performance highlights. The report indicates a moderate slowdown in activity, which is counterbalanced by a reduction in primary ready transactions and the off-plan primary segment.

The Dubai property market showed resilience despite an 8% drop in value and a 6% decrease in volume for primary sales in October compared to the previous year. Over the first ten months of 2025, there was an 18% year-on-year increase, with 103,939 transactions recorded. This growth was largely driven by a surge in primary ready transactions, with total value rising by 33% during this period.

Al Yelayiss 1 led the primary sales market, with transaction values increasing by nearly 7%. The area saw volumes jump from three to 153 transactions, making up 11% of total primary transaction value. Nad Al Sheba First followed closely, contributing to 9% of the total value.

The secondary sales market maintained positive momentum in October 2025. It recorded AED 25.9 billion across 7,718 transactions, marking a slight increase of 2% in value and a 1% rise in volume compared to last year.

This growth was supported by secondary off-plan sales, which rose by 15% in value and 8% in volume. Al Barsha South Fourth was a key driver with 687 transactions worth AED 1.4 billion compared to AED 768 million the previous year. Burj Khalifa also saw a significant increase with a year-on-year value growth of 17%.

Dubai's mortgage market remained stable in October, recording AED 15.98 billion across 3,999 transactions. Mortgage Finder data highlighted significant activity among mid-income earners.

The total mortgage value decreased by just 1% year-on-year; however, transaction volumes increased by 10%. This reflects sustained demand from end-users relying on mortgage financing rather than cash purchases. The average mortgage value per unit fell by 16%, reaching AED 4.17 million compared to October last year.

Year-to-date figures show Dubai recorded AED 148.1 billion in mortgage transactions from 35,554 deals. While overall value remains stable, volume increased by 19% compared to last year. This suggests that affordability and end-user ownership are driving demand.

Apartments continue to be the preferred choice for renters and buyers in Dubai over the past year. These properties account for about 78% of rental searches and represent around 57% of buyer demand. Studio apartments make up roughly one-quarter of rental searches but only attract about half that interest for purchases.

One-bedroom units are popular too, accounting for over one-third of apartment buy searches versus rental searches at similar levels. Interest has grown for smaller units like one-bedroom and studio apartments due to high rental prices prompting tenants towards ownership as a hedge against rent increases.

The AED 20K-40K monthly income group represents nearly one-third of all mortgage requests, according to Mortgage Finder's data. Within this bracket, most buyers are looking for homes to live in while some seek investment opportunities.

High-income earners (AED 80K+) make up about one-fifth of total mortgage cases but contribute significantly to investment-related searches targeting villas (32%) and high-end apartments (63%). This indicates continued confidence among affluent buyers within Dubai's property market.

Cherif Sleiman from Property Finder stated: "October's figures offer fascinating insights into consumer behaviour in the Dubai property market... Key residential areas such as Nad Al Sheba continue being vital along with Burj Khalifa where demand remains strong."