Office and retail sales value climb 190% and 178% year-on-year respectively as Dubai retains its title as the world’s top greenfield FDI destination for a fifth consecutive year
CRC Property, the UAE based commercial real estate brokerage, released its Q2 2026 market report, revealing that total commercial sales value moderated 36% quarter-on-quarter to AED 24.25 billion, as the disruptive effects of the regional conflict that began in late February 2026 weighed on investor confidence and delayed decision-making on large-ticket transactions. Transaction volumes eased in step, falling to 2,840 deals from 3,619 in the previous quarter.
Despite the sequential pullback, the report characterises the correction as an acute, event-driven shock rather than a structural loss of momentum, pointing to year-on-year growth of 190% in office sales value and 178% in retail sales value as evidence that Dubai’s underlying fundamentals remain firmly intact.
“Q2 2026 was a quarter that tested the resilience of Dubai’s commercial real estate market and it passed with encouraging signs of underlying strength,” said Behnam Bargh, Managing Director of CRC Property. “While transaction volumes corrected, institutional-grade capital continued to flow into premium office assets and the city has once again shown its ability to weather near-term disruption while staying anchored to the fundamentals that continue to attract capital from around the world.”
Office Market: Flight to Quality Continues
The office segment recorded 1,005 units sold in Q2, down 35.8% quarter-on-quarter, while total sales value held comparatively steady at AED 7.5 billion, a more modest 8% decline.
On a year-on-year basis, office sales value has nearly tripled, up 190% from an estimated AED 2.6 billion in Q2 2025.
Business Bay reaffirmed its position as Dubai’s leading office destination, recording 441 transactions and accounting for close to half of all office activity citywide, followed by Al Sufouh 1 (118 transactions) and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (110 transactions). Units under 1,500 sq ft accounted for 61.3% of transactions, underscoring sustained demand from SMEs, start-ups and single-owner operators.
Secondary market pricing softened only modestly, easing to AED 1,954 per sq ft. Dubai’s office supply pipeline points to measured expansion, with approximately 4.3 million sq ft of completions projected across 2026 and 2027.
Retail Market: Sequential Dip, Exceptional Annual Growth
Dubai’s retail investment segment pulled back alongside the broader market, with transaction volumes declining quarter-on-quarter and total sales value falling to AED 1.63 billion. Even so, the year-on-year picture remains exceptionally strong: against Q2 2025’s transactions and value, Q2 2026 still represents growth of approximately 58.6% in volume and 178.4% in value. Dubai South, Sobha Central and Jumeirah Village Circle led transacted retail locations for the quarter.
Industrial: Dubai’s Most Resilient Asset Class
Industrial and warehousing emerged as the most resilient asset class in Q2, underpinned by sustained occupier demand, disciplined pricing and continued institutional conviction. Demand remained concentrated in the small-to-medium bracket, between 10,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft, reflecting the footprint requirements of regional distributors and last-mile logistics operators. Rental rates held firm through the quarter, supported by tight availability.
“E-commerce and fulfillment-driven demand remains a structural feature of the market rather than a cyclical one,” said Ashley Sonnenberger, Industrial & Logistics Manager at CRC. “Occupiers in this space continue to seek space actively, reflecting the continued build-out of last-mile distribution networks across the Emirate and the broader normalisation of online retail infrastructure within the region’s logistics landscape.”
Institutional Capital Continues to Broaden Across the UAE
CRC’s report also points to a maturing, more diversified investor base entering Dubai’s real estate market in Q2. Capital deployment continued to broaden beyond traditional buyers, according to the report, with institutional investors, sovereign-backed funds, family offices and private investment managers actively expanding their presence or investment mandates across the UAE. They noted that the quarter also saw DMCC unveil its proposed Foundations Framework, a step toward strengthening Dubai’s private capital ecosystem through stronger succession planning, governance and long-term asset ownership.
