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UAE property defies regional war, sees 59 new projects launches worth Dh118.3 billion
More than 12,000 units were launched by developers after the regional military conflict began on February 28, reflecting sustained confidence in the market
- PUBLISHED: Sun 17 May 2026, 10:10 AM
The UAE property market has shown resilience over the past few months, with 59 new projects worth Dh118.3 billion launched since the regional conflict began.
Based on the latest available data from Property Monitor, Matt Gregory, senior director of strategy at Bayut and dubizzle, said the 59 projects represented more than 12,000 units across the UAE.
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“This continued launch activity reflects sustained developer confidence and the market’s ability to progress despite short-term uncertainty. The total estimated gross sales value (GSV) of all those units launched is Dh118.3 billion,” he said.
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The regional military conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran escalated on February 28. Following the US-Israel attacks, Iran targeted the UAE and other Gulf countries with missiles and drones.
The property sector, which was already undergoing a correction phase after a strong five-year rally, came under pressure due to the conflict. However, the market demonstrated resilience and has been recovering since the ceasefire.
Rather than seeing stress in specific communities, Bayut and dubizzle data indicated that established residential areas continued to attract strong interest, particularly those with proven lifestyle appeal, mature infrastructure and sustained end-user demand, Gregory said.
Dubai continued to witness strong property interest across both ready and off-plan segments. In ready sales, communities such as Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina and Arjan were among the most searched apartment areas. For villas, Damac Hills 2, Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches 3, Arabian Ranches and Dubai South led buyer interest.
For off-plan demand, areas such as Majan, Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai South, Jumeirah Village Triangle and Business Bay stood out for apartments. Villa demand was led by The Oasis by Emaar, The Valley by Emaar, Damac Lagoons, Dubai South and Mohammed Bin Rashid City.
Data also showed that rental demand remained concentrated in established and emerging family and lifestyle communities. Jumeirah Village Circle, Arjan, Business Bay, Dubai Marina and Meydan ranked among the most popular apartment rental areas. For villas, Damac Hills 2, Dubai South, Mirdif, Arabian Ranches 3 and The Valley by Emaar were among the most searched rental communities.
The latest findings point to a market that is not only recovering, but doing so with greater reliance on data, transparency and qualified engagement.
Sharing the latest industry insights during a media briefing, the leading property platforms revealed sustained recovery across key property engagement metrics nearly two months after the onset of the recent regional uncertainty.
The data indicated that UAE property seeker activity, agent engagement and high-intent enquiries have continued to recover steadily, reinforcing the underlying resilience of the country’s real estate market.
According to Bayut and dubizzle Property data, active users rebounded to 85 per cent of the 2026 baseline by day 58 of the conflict, while unique buyers returned to 87 per cent. The recovery was even more pronounced across platform engagement metrics, with impressions reaching 92 per cent of the 2026 baseline, views reaching 89 per cent, and high-intent enquiries recovering to 80 per cent.
“Periods of uncertainty often reveal the true strength of a market. What we are seeing across our platforms is a measured and confident return of activity, supported by serious buyers, committed agents and increasingly data-led decision-making. The UAE real estate market continues to demonstrate maturity, with users actively engaging with trusted tools such as TruEstimate and Dubai Transactions to understand value, compare opportunities and make better-informed choices. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that supports long-term market stability,” said Matt Gregory.
