Dubai Real Estate Rentals Market Report 12 January 2026
Dubai Real Estate Rentals Report - 12 January 2026
(Dual-Market Reporting)
Total Transactions: 5,763
Total Contract Value: AED 1,061,837,812 (USD 289.1 million)
Market Overview
Dubai’s rental market recorded exceptionally high activity on 12 January 2026, driven not by scattered retail leasing, but by concentrated institutional registrations layered on top of an already active residential market.
While headline figures show a balanced split between new contracts (AED 527.3M) and renewals (AED 534.6M), this balance masks two very different market behaviors:
- Bulk institutional leasing in industrial and legacy residential districts
- Fragmented retail leasing across the wider city
Labor accommodations, staff housing, and repeated flat registrations materially distorted locality rankings, pushing industrial zones to the top of the value charts — a pattern consistent with the previous two rental reports.
Tonino Lamborghini Residences RAK | Branded Island Living
Source: Building Arabia.
Market Structure at a Glance
Contract Type
| Contract Type | Transactions | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | 2,314 | 527,266,896 | 143,571,653 |
| Renewed | 3,449 | 534,570,916 | 145,560,494 |
| Total | 5,763 | 1,061,837,812 | 289,132,147 |
Property Ownership Type
| Ownership | Transactions | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freehold | 3,033 | 617,726,642 | 168,203,306 |
| Non-Freehold | 2,730 | 444,111,170 | 120,928,841 |
| Total | 5,763 | 1,061,837,812 | 289,132,147 |
Freehold assets dominated value, while non-freehold zones absorbed much of the institutional volume.
Property Usage
| Usage | Transactions | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 4,033 | 690,277,455 | 187,958,463 |
| Commercial | 1,690 | 361,198,467 | 98,352,203 |
| Industrial | 6 | 794,684 | 216,402 |
| Storage | 2 | 128,800 | 35,071 |
| Other | 32 | 9,438,405 | 2,570,022 |
| Total | 5,763 | 1,061,837,812 | 289,132,147 |
Property Type Breakdown (Fully Expanded)
A) Building
| Type | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel | 1 | 6,600,000 |
B) Land
| Type | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 26 | 2,629,093 |
C) Unit
| Unit Type | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | 3,441 | 319,324,214 |
| Labor Camps | 237 | 282,957,276 |
| Shop | 565 | 199,692,786 |
| Office | 514 | 91,836,495 |
| Warehouse | 54 | 9,501,233 |
| Showroom | 17 | 10,203,569 |
| Hotel | 267 | 3,002,575 |
| Other Units | 53 | 7,036,941 |
| Unit Total | 5,148 | 923,555,089 |
D) Villa
| Type | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Villa | 315 | 81,374,205 |
| Complex Villas | 23 | 3,962,706 |
| Other | 2 | 744,000 |
| Villa Total | 340 | 86,080,911 |
E) Virtual Unit
| Type | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Office | 240 | 6,213,119 |
| Shop | 8 | 36,759,600 |
| Total | 248 | 42,972,719 |
Top 10 Localities by Rental Value
| # | Locality | Transactions | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabal Ali Industrial First | 194 | 275,533,385 |
| 2 | Al Barsha First | 76 | 78,619,470 |
| 3 | Burj Khalifa | 136 | 63,262,522 |
| 4 | Hor Al Anz | 108 | 47,626,875 |
| 5 | Al Thanyah Fifth | 86 | 32,862,023 |
| 6 | Business Bay | 326 | 31,133,983 |
| 7 | Al Murqabat | 114 | 20,683,497 |
| 8 | Naif | 206 | 19,172,614 |
| 9 | Marsa Dubai | 78 | 19,098,154 |
| 10 | Al Merkadh | 60 | 14,990,300 |
Dual-Market Analysis
1) Institutional / Workforce Leasing
Jabal Ali Industrial First
- 130 identical labor camp contracts at AED 1.872M each
- Institutional value: ~AED 243.4M
Hor Al Anz
- 38 repeated flat contracts
- Institutional residential housing, not retail leasing
These transactions reflect corporate accommodation strategies, not household demand, and should be interpreted accordingly.
2) Retail Residential & Commercial Leasing
Outside institutional clusters, leasing activity was widely distributed:
- Business Bay & Burj Khalifa: apartment and mixed-use dominance
- Al Barsha First: high-value retail and showroom leases
- Naif, Al Murqabat, Marsa Dubai: traditional high-volume residential turnover
Other Localities
Beyond the top 10, the remaining ~5,000 transactions were spread across more than 130 communities, including:
Al Khairan First, Al Warsan First, Jabal Ali First, Al Barsha South Fourth, Mirdif, Al Satwa, Port Saeed, Al Nahda (First & Second), Jumeirah districts, Al Qusais industrial zones, Dubai Investment Park, Muhaisanah, Ras Al Khor industrial areas, and multiple Wadi Al Safa submarkets.
This confirms broad-based leasing liquidity, with institutional clusters temporarily distorting value rankings.
Closing Takeaway
The 12 January 2026 rental market was not merely “active” — it was structurally layered. Institutional leasing drove value concentration, while retail leasing sustained volume citywide. Any interpretation that ignores this split risks misreading both demand and pricing pressure.
Disclaimer:
This report is based on publicly available data and Dubai Land Department (DLD) transaction summaries as of the date mentioned in the title of this post.
Final and detailed figures from the DLD may vary upon official release.
1 US Dollar = 3.6725 UAE Dirhams
This report is merely informative, and all investments come with risk. You are responsible for your decisions.