5 October 2026 22:36 |
Last updated:
5 October 22:39 2026
Summary
The population increase in Dubai by 230,000 over nine months has enhanced rental prices, prompting tenants to renew contracts; there are notable rent increases for renewals and a decline in new contracts across various categories and areas.
During the first nine months of 2026, the landscape of rental properties and tenant movements in Dubai remained stable compared to previous yearly trends and geographical areas. Many renters appear inclined to renew their housing contracts rather than relocating, influenced by strong demand for residential units and a growing population.
According to data from the DXBInteract platform, most of Dubai’s residents are opting to keep their homes and renew their leases for another year as demand for housing units increases alongside the city’s population growth.
In the studio apartment category, rental prices showed a slight upward trend across different classifications (luxurious, mid-range, and affordable), with data indicating an increase in demand in all geographic areas of Dubai. Renewed contracts in affordable communities such as Mirdif, Al Mamzar, and International City maintained approximately the same values, whereas new rental agreements demonstrated varied declines in more luxurious and mid-range areas like Palm Jumeirah, Downtown Dubai, Marina, and Business Bay.
One Bedroom and Hall
For one-bedroom apartments, the data reveals strong demand for both new and renewed contracts in mid-range and affordable areas, with renewal demand growing between 2% and 5% in Mirdif, Al Mamzar, and International City, alongside a substantial increase of 5% to 10% for new contracts.
Mid-range areas such as Business Bay, Al Furjan, and Jumeirah Circle experienced robust demand for contract renewals, with growth rates ranging from 5% to 8%. In contrast, new rental agreements in the luxurious property market showed declines.
Two and Three Bedrooms
In the two-bedroom category, both mid-range and affordable areas witnessed significant activity in renewing rental agreements, with growth rates between 1% and 4% for affordable locations and between 5% and 7% for mid-range locations like Jumeirah Circle, Business Bay, and Al Furjan. The luxurious segment experienced renewed contracts between 1% and 3% in areas including Palm Jumeirah and Downtown Dubai.
However, new rental contracts in luxurious and mid-range locations faced declines ranging from 4% to 11%, while affordable areas noted increases between 2% and 9%. In the three-bedroom segment, there was strong demand for renewals in luxurious and mid-range markets, despite new contracts decreasing in most areas.
Four Bedrooms
In the four-bedroom unit category, renewed rental agreements surged across all areas in Dubai—luxury, mid-range, and affordable—while new contracts faded in most locations.
Since the beginning of 2026, Dubai’s population has surged by 230,000, marking a 5% increase to 4.81 million as of the end of September, up from 4.58 million at the same time in 2025.
Data from the Dubai Statistics and Data Establishment for 2025 indicated a population of 4.58 million, reflecting an annual growth of 332,000 residents or 8% compared to 2024’s figure of 4.25 million.
This period also registered an 8% rise in the number of households, leading to 858,000 families—an increase of approximately 63,000, based on an average household size of 4.2 individuals. This trend underscores the steady influx of residents and skilled workforce into the emirate, compared to 795,200 households in 2024.
The total number of housing units, including buildings and villas, increased by 10% to reach 1.438 million units, compared to about 1.3 million at the end of 2024—a rise of 138,000 units.
Moreover, the number of residential apartments surpassed one million for the first time, with the addition of over 100,000 new apartments, reflecting an 11% increase, whilst the number of buildings and villas grew to 438,000—a rise of 26,600 units, marking an increase of 6.5%.