Dubai remains top market for homes transacted for over US$10 mil: Knight Frank
Saudi Arabia and India HNWIs recorded the best rate of interest, with 66% and 41% of participants showing a purpose to buy a UAE estate in 2025. For the UK and East Asia HNWIs checked, 17% of each associate indicated a possible UAE real estate purchase this year.
At the same time, Dubai remains the world’s busiest local market available of homes priced over US$ 10 million, the record states. in 2025, a total of 435 transactions in this bracket were recorded in Dubai, almost equating to the number of such offers logged in London and New York incorporated. Between January and March this year, 111 homes were sold off for more than US$ 10 million in Dubai.
“As we have found in our research in previous years and mirroring the experience of our teams, the highest appetite for a real estate acquisition in the UAE comes from those with the greatest wealth and is a testimony to the success of the government’s programs to strengthen the emirate’s appearance as a place for the world’s affluent to live and invest in,” says Faisal Durrani, associate and head of research study for Knight Frank MENA.
According to the survey, homes continue to be the biggest draw for global HNWI as compared to the business and retail sectors. Additionally, Dubai continues to be the top target place, with 71% of respondents identifying Dubai as their chosen emirate.
In its newest Destination Dubai record, Knight Frank evaluated 387 global HNWI across the UK, India, Saudi Arabia and East Asia (China, Hong Kong and Singapore) to assess their demand for investing in United Arab Emirates realty. Over half of the respondents (52%) showed they have an interest in buying real estate in the UAE.
The steady demand has bolstered activity in Dubai’s housing market, that registered record residential sales of nearly 170,000 homes in 2024 worth a total of US$ 100 billion, says Knight Frank. That momentum has rollovered into this year, with AED100 billion ($35 billion) in home sales already reached as of March 4. Dubai real estate values have also kept on to rise, rising 19.1% in 2024 to strike an average of AED1,685 psf.
“The super-rich stay laser-focused on purchasing deluxe houses in the city, and this relentless demand has been a significant factor of Dubai being the globe’s busiest US$ 10 million+ homes market for the second year running,” says Shehzad Jamal, associate for strategy and consultancy at Knight Frank MENA (Middle East and North Africa).
Following strong activity in 2024, the Dubai realty market is anticipated to keep on bring in demand from among the well-off. According to a study report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, high-net-worth individuals (HWNIs) surveyed globally have shown enthusiasm in buying a property in Dubai, with an approximated US$ 10.3 billion ($13 billion) in private capital possibly being directed in the direction of the emirate’s non commercial market.
Knight Frank adds that amongst the East Asia HNWIs, those in Hong Kong showed the highest appetite, with 22% of respondents signalling the aim to purchase UAE property in 2025.
