Dubai retained its clear lead among Gulf real estate markets last year, with buyers spending 541 billion dirhams ($147 billion) on residential property in the emirate in 2025, some 27% more than the year before.
The number of transactions was up 19% over the same period, reaching more than 200,000, according to data from real estate agent Springfield Properties.
The market in neighboring Abu Dhabi may be smaller, but it’s more buoyant. Over the first nine months of last year, total sales reached 94 billion dirhams, up 43% year-on-year. In Riyadh, the market has been more volatile, with the value and number of transactions down in the second and third quarters compared to the same periods a year earlier. The opening up of the market to foreign buyers this month should boost activity, but could also sharpen cost-of-living concerns for locals.