Dubai Real Estate Rentals Market Report 21 January 2026
Dubai Real Estate Rentals Report – 21 January 2026
Market Review
Dubai’s rental market recorded an exceptionally high-value trading day on 21 January 2026, with 6,286 rental contracts registered at a total value of AED 12.44 Billion. At face value, this represents one of the largest single-day rental turnovers on record. However, the data clearly shows that overall figures are heavily influenced by institutional and portfolio-level registrations, rather than reflecting typical market rents.
The rental market effectively operated on two parallel tracks:
- A retail market layer, driven by residential renewals, flats, villas, and standard commercial units.
- An institutional layer, where large blocks of labor camps, hotel rooms, and retail shops were registered with identical contract values, significantly inflating locality totals and average contract values.
Renewed contracts slightly outnumbered new ones, indicating tenancy stability, while new contracts carried higher aggregate value due to large-scale commercial and industrial registrations.
VELA Viento Marasi Bay by OMNIYAT
Source: Building Arabia.
Market Overview at a Glance
| Metric | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Total Rental Value | 12,439,235,448 | 3,387,132,373 |
| Total Contracts | 6,286 | — |
Rentals by Contract Type
| Contract Type | No. of Contracts | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New | 2,788 | 7,057,038,616 | 1,921,589,951 |
| Renewed | 3,498 | 5,382,196,832 | 1,465,542,422 |
| Grand Total | 6,286 | 12,439,235,448 | 3,387,132,373 |
Rentals by Ownership Type
| Ownership Type | No. of Contracts | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Freehold | 3,440 | 9,309,019,190 | 2,534,790,838 |
| Freehold | 2,846 | 3,130,216,258 | 852,341,535 |
| Grand Total | 6,286 | 12,439,235,448 | 3,387,132,373 |
Non-freehold zones dominated value due to institutional commercial and industrial leasing.
Rentals by Property Usage
| Usage | No. of Contracts | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 4,402 | 7,288,941,591 | 1,984,735,335 |
| Commercial | 1,843 | 5,141,936,093 | 1,400,118,746 |
| Industrial | 9 | 1,646,123 | 448,229 |
| Educational Facility | 3 | 1,372,500 | 373,723 |
| Health Facility | 1 | 1,300,000 | 353,982 |
| Tourist Origin | 1 | 105,000 | 28,591 |
| Other | 27 | 3,934,141 | 1,071,243 |
| Grand Total | 6,286 | 12,439,235,448 | 3,387,132,373 |
Property Type Breakdown
| Property Category & Type | No. of Contracts | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A) Land | 19 | 2,877,889 | 783,632 |
| └ Other | 19 | 2,877,889 | 783,632 |
| B) Unit | 5,669 | 12,269,229,773 | 3,341,208,095 |
| └ Flat | 3,095 | 3,866,874,207 | 1,053,034,264 |
| └ Labor Camps | 986 | 3,283,303,725 | 894,007,810 |
| └ Shop | 541 | 3,304,637,225 | 899,819,166 |
| └ Hotel | 399 | 1,381,662,311 | 376,218,485 |
| └ Office | 507 | 156,059,863 | 42,493,988 |
| └ Clinic | 12 | 218,546,000 | 59,508,790 |
| └ Showroom | 18 | 20,748,038 | 5,649,568 |
| └ Warehouse | 40 | 13,783,563 | 3,753,183 |
| └ Restaurant | 15 | 11,020,048 | 3,000,694 |
| └ Other Unit Types* | 55 | 12,594,793 | 3,429,347 |
| C) Villa | 316 | 145,251,477 | 39,551,118 |
| └ Villa | 295 | 139,946,953 | 38,106,725 |
| └ Complex Villas | 18 | 3,485,637 | 949,118 |
| └ Clinic | 2 | 1,568,887 | 427,198 |
| └ Shop | 1 | 250,000 | 68,074 |
| D) Virtual Unit | 282 | 21,876,310 | 5,956,794 |
| └ Office | 276 | 11,132,684 | 3,031,364 |
| └ Shop | 6 | 10,743,626 | 2,925,430 |
| Grand Total | 6,286 | 12,439,235,448 | 3,387,132,373 |
*Includes: Gym, Health Club, Kiosk, Ladies Saloon, Parking, Spa, Staff Accommodation, Storage, Store, Studio, Supermarket, Warehouse Complex, Workshop.
Institutional Rental Concentration
Several localities recorded clusters of identical contract values, confirming portfolio-level registrations rather than individual market leases:
- Jabal Ali Industrial First: 587 labor camp contracts totaling AED 3.13 Billion.
- Mankhool: 169 renewed flat contracts at AED 17.3 Million each, totaling AED 2.93 Billion.
- Naif: 79 new shop contracts at AED 35.5 Million each (5-year leases), totaling AED 2.80 Billion.
- Port Saeed: 280 renewed hotel contracts at AED 4.55 Million each, totaling AED 1.27 Billion.
These transactions materially distort locality rankings and should not be interpreted as prevailing rental benchmarks.
Top 10 Localities by Rental Value
| Rank | Locality | Contracts | Value (AED) | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabal Ali Industrial First | 606 | 3,134,110,051 | 853,399,634 |
| 2 | Mankhool | 226 | 2,932,549,286 | 798,515,833 |
| 3 | Naif | 294 | 2,816,141,255 | 766,818,707 |
| 4 | Port Saeed | 313 | 1,276,505,040 | 347,584,814 |
| 5 | Al Bada | 49 | 657,071,852 | 178,916,797 |
| 6 | Al Raffa | 138 | 643,645,726 | 175,260,927 |
| 7 | Al Goze Third | 280 | 168,499,602 | 45,881,452 |
| 8 | Dubai Investment Park First | 280 | 112,421,160 | 30,611,617 |
| 9 | Al Saffa First | 40 | 73,009,730 | 19,880,118 |
| 10 | Muhaisanah Second | 113 | 43,747,300 | 11,912,131 |
Other Active Localities
Beyond the top ten, rental activity was widely distributed across Business Bay, Burj Khalifa, Marsa Dubai, Al Warsan First, Al Barsha South Fourth, Mirdif, Palm Jumeirah, and Al Karama, among many others. In total, 136 localities recorded rental transactions, reflecting broad geographic participation across residential, commercial, and industrial segments.
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.