Dubai to Enjoy Highest Residential Growth Globally in 2025

A market report quoted by U.A.E. publication Arabian Business recently has painted a rosy picture for Dubai’s prime residences in 2025. According to the study, prime residential capital values in the city are expected to grow by almost 10% in 2025 — the highest out of the markets surveyed by the report. 

This stands in stark contrast to a global price growth average of a paltry 1.6%, which is itself a fall by 0.6% from 2024’s 2.2%. Conversely, it is a figure that builds on Dubai’s own strong showing in 2024 of a 6.8% capital value growth in prime residential properties.

The city is poised to leave major luxury markets in the dust in 2025, with second-place Sydney enjoying a predicted rise in prime residential capital values of a distant 6%. New York and Paris, meanwhile, are expected to only see a maximum growth of 1.9%.

It is a growth expectation that builds off of a record showing for the Dubai real estate market in 2024. The value of homes sold above $10 million in the city last year stood at a staggering $7 billion. By the end of Q3 2024, Dubai had overtaken New York, Hong Kong and Los Angeles in this specific market segment. A veritable influx of high-net-worth individuals fuelled this surge in prime residential properties. 6700 millionaires moved to the U.A.E. in 2024, the highest anywhere in the world and with many (if not most) to Dubai. For context, the U.K. suffered a net loss of 9500 millionaires, and China, 15,200. 

A breakdown of buyer profiles showcases Dubai’s robust standing as a global hub for luxury real estate and an international wealth magnet. The countries that Christie’s International Real Estate Dubai itself welcomed the most buyers from last year were India, the U.K., China, the U.A.E. and Russia. In 2025, while longstanding historical and cultural ties will see Indian and British buyers continue to invest in Dubai (Emirati buyers are a given), experts cited by Arabian Business expect a significant increase in Chinese and Russian buyers by almost 30%. 

Factors attracting high-net-worth buyers and investors to the city include the ever-popular Golden Visa, no income and low corporate tax, high ROIs and longer-term infrastructure projects like the Al Maktoum International Airport. 

Rental returns in particular are also a significant draw, with the same Arabian Business report cited earlier projecting a rise in 2025 rental prices for prime Dubai properties of over 10% — symbolising the lucrative real estate market in the city.