Dubai recorded AED8.2 billion in office sales during the first three months of 2026 as transaction volumes climbed almost 75 percent to 1,600 according to a Cavendish Maxwell report. The consultancy’s data places the increase at 203 percent compared with the same period in 2025 while off-plan sales reached AED6.4 billion marking their highest share since the third quarter of 2010. Off-plan deals generated roughly 950 transactions nearly five times the year-earlier figure and accounted for more than 60 percent of total office sales volumes.
January and February drove the bulk of activity with those two months responsible for 83 percent of sales volumes and 81 percent of transaction values the report showed. Average office sales prices rose nearly 23 percent year-on-year to AED2,029 per square foot while rental rates increased 20 percent to AED304.9 per square foot. The strongest rental growth occurred in DIFC at 28.2 percent followed by Barsha Heights at 27.1 percent and Downtown Dubai at 27 percent according to the Cavendish Maxwell assessment.
Al Sufouh 1 led transaction volumes with 380 off-plan deals while the top five locations including Business Bay Jumeirah Lakes Towers Dubai Maritime City and Trade Centre 2 together represented 71.5 percent of all office transactions the report found. Approximately 40 percent of off-plan sales concentrated in a single project called Shahrukhz by Danube. Larger units over 5,000 square feet gained market share rising to 7.3 percent of off-plan transactions from 1.5 percent a year earlier highlighting demand for expansion space.
The first quarter saw 73,300 square metres of new office supply delivered including the fully leased DIFC Square development of 55,700 square metres completed ahead of schedule Cavendish Maxwell reported. A further 240,000 square metres is scheduled for completion during the rest of 2026 which would lift total stock to nearly 9.7 million square metres by year-end. The consultancy forecasts inventory expanding to 10 million square metres by 2027 and 10.8 million square metres by 2028.
Vidhi Shah director for commercial valuation at Cavendish Maxwell said Dubai’s office market recorded a strong start to the year with growth in transaction volumes and values highlighting sustained demand across the sector driven by continued business formation and international corporate expansion. In an interview within the report Shah noted that the Dubai Chamber of Commerce registered more than 2,700 new companies in March alone despite regional tensions while DIFC attracted 775 new companies in the quarter with March up nearly 60 percent year-on-year. She added that the March slowdown in activity reflected transactions agreed before wider events along with the timing of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.
This performance builds on 2025 when Dubai’s overall real estate sales hit a record AED624.1 billion according to Dubai Land Department figures while commercial property transactions in the first half of that year rose 38.4 percent to AED58.6 billion per an Engel & Voelkers report. Shah stated that Dubai’s office market is expected to remain resilient as demand fundamentals remain in place thanks to the city’s regulatory environment tax competitiveness and quality of infrastructure. Landlords continue to achieve asking rents due to limited availability of high-quality Grade A space in established districts the Cavendish Maxwell report concluded.
