Knight Frank counted 86 Dubai residential sales of $10 million or more in Q3 2026, worth AED 5.77 billion, 34% fewer than the 131 of Q2 and below the 103 of Q3 2025. Its prices across ten prime neighbourhoods fell 5% on Q2, the first fall since 2020, and Palm Jumeirah led with 27 sales.
Key figures
- 86
residential sales of $10 million or more, worth AED 5.77 billion; 13 were above $25 million
Q3 2026
Knight Frank, 21 October 2026 - 34% fewer
such sales than the 131 of Q2 2026; Q3 2025 had 103
Q3 2026 against Q2 2026 and Q3 2025
Knight Frank, 21 October 2026 - 5% lower
prices across the city's ten prime neighbourhoods, the first fall since 2020
Q2 to Q3 2026
Knight Frank, 21 October 2026 - AED 4,083
per sq ft on Palm Jumeirah, 9.1% lower over twelve months; 27 sales in the quarter
Q3 2026; change over twelve months
Knight Frank, 21 October 2026
How many $10 million homes did Dubai sell in Q3 2026?
Knight Frank’s 21 October release records 86 residential sales of $10 million or more between July and September, worth AED 5.77 billion ($1.57 billion). Thirteen were above $25 million and 73 between $10 million and $25 million; 55 of the 86 were villas. Against the 103 of Q3 2025 the fall is 16.5% (our arithmetic), and against the 131 of Q2 it is 34%.
| Cut | Sales | Value (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| July | 36 | 2.04bn |
| August | 32 | 2.08bn |
| September | 18 | 1.65bn |
| Q3 2026 total | 86 | 5.77bn |
| $10 million to $25 million | 73 | 3.93bn |
| Above $25 million | 13 | 1.84bn |
Read September’s 18 with care. In July Knight Frank said registration lags a sale by four to six weeks, so a month’s count reflects deals agreed earlier, and one month is a weak basis for a trend.
Did prices at the top of the market fall?
Knight Frank says prices across the city’s ten prime neighbourhoods fell 5% between Q2 and Q3, the first fall since 2020. The release neither lists the ten neighbourhoods nor names an index, so the 5% is a direction to note, not a series you can rebuild. It also says total prime transaction volumes are 29.4% lower than a year earlier, a different measure from the count of $10 million sales.
The seasonal explanation comes from Louis Harding of Knight Frank, who says a Q3 below Q2 is “something we historically expect during the usually quieter summer months”. For the whole market rather than the top of it, our Q3 2026 report sets four sources side by side.
Which communities led $10 million sales in Q3 2026?
Palm Jumeirah recorded 27 sales worth AED 2.01 billion, about 31% of the quarter’s count and 35% of its value, including five of the 13 above $25 million. Harding says prices there eased 9.1% over twelve months to AED 4,083 per sq ft and that overall sales volumes are 37% below last summer. In the first half, Dubai Hills Estate led with 51 sales to Palm Jumeirah’s 50; in Q3 it shows six.
| Community | Sales | Value (AED million) |
|---|---|---|
| Palm Jumeirah | 27 | 2,010 |
| Jumeirah Second | 10 | 594.9 |
| Emirates Hills | 7 | 542.5 |
| Dubai Hills Estate | 6 | 574.9 |
| Jumeirah Golf Estates | 6 | 330.1 |
Why do reports count a different number of $10 million sales?
Knight Frank’s own releases do not add up on the count, and Engel & Völkers sits above both. The table sets them side by side and does not sum across sources.
| Source | Period | Sales | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knight Frank, 6 July | H1 2026 (Q1 165, Q2 131) | 296 | $5.1 billion |
| Knight Frank, 21 October | Q3 2026 | 86 | $1.57 billion |
| Our sum of the two | Q1 to Q3 2026 | 382 | $6.67 billion |
| Knight Frank, 21 October | Q1 to Q3 2026 | 412 | about $6.67 billion |
| Engel & Völkers (page undated) | H1 2026 | 320 | $6.0 billion |
The value adds up and the count does not. Knight Frank’s H1 plus Q3 gives 382 sales; its own nine-month figure is 412, which is 30 more, against 357 in the same period of 2025. Q2 is 131 in both releases, so if 412 and 86 are right and Q2 stands, Q1 would be 195, not the 165 reported in July. The 21 October release gives no Q1 or H1 figure and no note of a revision, so we cannot say which count is right.
Engel & Völkers counts 24 more sales and $0.9 billion more value for H1 than Knight Frank (our arithmetic: 320 against 296, $6.0 billion against $5.1 billion). Neither source says which register or dataset it counts from.
What does it cost to buy a $10 million home in Dubai?
The dirham is pegged to the dollar (The National), and the Central Bank of the UAE’s September 2026 rate sheet lists AED 3.6725 to the US dollar. At that rate $10 million is AED 36,725,000. The DLD registration fee is 4% of the property’s value, which a DLD notice says is paid as the agreement between seller and buyer sets out. Property Finder describes a legal split of 2% each that buyers commonly pay in full, gives the agent’s commission as typically 2% plus 5% VAT, and lists a trustee-office fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT and AED 580 for the title deed.
| Item | Basis | AED |
|---|---|---|
| DLD registration fee | 4% of 36,725,000 | 1,469,000 |
| Agent’s commission | 2% plus 5% VAT | 771,225 |
| Trustee office | 4,000 plus 5% VAT | 4,200 |
| Title deed | 580 for most ready units | 580 |
| Total beyond the price | 6.1% of the price | 2,245,005 |
The DLD fee alone is AED 2.15 million at the average of Q3’s $10 million to $25 million sales (about AED 53.8 million) and AED 5.66 million at the average above $25 million (about AED 141.5 million). Those averages are our arithmetic from AED 3.93 billion over 73 sales and AED 1.84 billion over 13. Mortgage limits and fees are in our guide to costs beyond the price, and the cost calculator runs your own price.
What would we check before buying at this level?
This section is the advisory view of Jalili Real Estate. The numbers above describe a quarter; a purchase happens in one building, on one plot, in one month. Four checks follow.
Match the number to the decision. A 5% move on AED 36,725,000 is AED 1,836,250, more than the DLD fee in the table. At that scale the evidence that matters is registered sales in your own building or street over the last year, with dates and sizes, not a ten-neighbourhood figure whose neighbourhoods are not listed.
Ask how many sales sit behind a price per foot. Palm Jumeirah’s AED 4,083 rests on 27 sales in a quarter, and the 13 sales above $25 million were 15% of the count but 32% of the value (our arithmetic from the Knight Frank figures). With so few sales, a handful of large plots or whole-floor apartments can move an average without moving the price of the home you are offered.
Do not read a trend into one quarter. A summer dip can explain part of a fall from Q2. It cannot explain a Q3 count below Q3 2025, or prime volumes 29.4% lower than a year earlier. Equally, one quarter, a count that does not reconcile and an unlisted index are thin grounds for waiting.
Budget the cash for the transfer date. At the $10 million floor the DLD fee and commission alone come to about AED 2.24 million. Settle in writing who pays what before you pay a deposit: the DLD notice leaves the amount to the agreement between seller and buyer, while Property Finder describes a 2% and 2% legal split.
The trade-off runs both ways. Softer numbers can give a buyer room to negotiate, but a quarter of 86 sales cannot tell you whether the seller of the home you want is under pressure. Only recent sales in the same building, and the seller’s own circumstances, can.
This is general information, not financial or legal advice; check every figure with your adviser before you act.
How many $10 million homes sold in Dubai in Q3 2026?
Knight Frank recorded 86 residential sales of $10 million or more in Q3 2026, worth AED 5.77 billion, 13 of them above $25 million. Q2 2026 had 131 such sales and Q3 2025 had 103 (Knight Frank, 21 October 2026).
Did prime prices in Dubai fall in Q3 2026?
Knight Frank says prices across ten prime neighbourhoods fell 5% between Q2 and Q3 2026, the first fall since 2020. On Palm Jumeirah prices eased 9.1% over twelve months to AED 4,083 per sq ft. The release does not list the ten neighbourhoods (Knight Frank, 21 October 2026).
Why do counts of $10 million home sales differ between reports?
Knight Frank counted 296 sales for H1 2026 and Engel & Völkers 320. Knight Frank's own nine-month 412 is 30 more than its H1 plus Q3 (296 + 86 = 382). Neither names its dataset, so compare figures only within one report (Knight Frank, 6 July and 21 October 2026; Engel & Völkers, undated).
Sources and method
Figures are Knight Frank's, from its releases of 6 July and 21 October 2026; $ means US dollars. Knight Frank does not name its data source or list its ten prime neighbourhoods. Sums, averages, percentages and the cost table are our arithmetic, and counts from different reports are shown side by side, not added. Every source was re-read on 26 October 2026.
