Dubai’s residential pipeline for 2026 reaches nearly 68,000 homes
By Catherine Smith GST 2 min read
Dubai is on course to see 68,250 residential units delivered across 2026, combining the 11,650 homes handed over in the second quarter with the 56,600 units scheduled for completion during the remainder of the year, according to the Colliers Q2 2026 UAE Real Estate Market Report.
The Q2 handovers comprised 9,200 apartments and 2,450 villas. Dubai remained the UAE’s largest source of new residential supply during the quarter.
Dubai residential pipeline for 2026: most units already sold
The scale of upcoming supply sits against an already well-absorbed pipeline. Gulf News, citing Dubai Land Department (DLD) data, reported that of the 96,585 homes due for handover across Dubai during 2026, 80,127, or 82.9%, had already been sold.
Apartments account for 91,209 of those units, with an absorption rate of 82%. Villas, at 5,376 units, have sold at a higher rate of 95%.
First-half completions reached 24,537 units, up more than 36% on the 18,043 recorded in the same period a year earlier, according to DLD data reported by Gulf News.
The broader construction queue is substantial. Across Dubai, 564,072 residential properties are currently under construction, with most scheduled for handover by 2028. Of those, 425,863, or 75.5%, have been sold. Villas show the stronger take-up rate: of 68,297 under construction, 58,349 have been sold, giving the segment an absorption rate of 85.4%. Apartments, at 495,775 units under construction, show a rate of 74.1%, with 367,514 already purchased.
Colliers noted that in Dubai, rental and sales performance moderated during Q2 as affordability pressures, increased choice and shifting buyer behaviour influenced activity across locations and asset types.
Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates add further supply
Abu Dhabi completed around 2,200 units during Q2, with handovers across Al Shamkhah, Yas Island, Bloom Living in Zayed City and Al Raha Beach. A further 3,200 units are scheduled for delivery in the emirate before year-end. Colliers said rental rates, sales prices and transaction activity in Abu Dhabi softened quarter-on-quarter, though annual performance remained positive and off-plan sales continued to account for the majority of residential transactions.
Across the Northern Emirates, around 7,450 residential units are expected to be completed during 2026. Sharjah leads with approximately 5,450 homes, followed by Ras Al Khaimah at 1,400 and Ajman at 600. Colliers said the completion pipeline in the Northern Emirates has moderated as project delivery schedules changed, with rental and sales performance softening in parts of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.
New launches picked up in Sharjah during Q2, with approximately 4,600 units announced. Among the recent handovers in the region were the final units at Danah Bay in Ras Al Khaimah and Il Teatro Residences in Sharjah’s Aljada district.
The Il Teatro handover covered 138 apartments across two buildings and marked the close of residential development within Naseej District, the creative quarter of Aljada, where more than 2,000 homes have now been delivered in total. Arada’s Aljada megacommunity carries a total development value of Dh35 billion. The developer’s CEO, Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, said the company’s goal is to hand over 4,000 units across its communities during 2026, with the Nasaq complex at Aljada the next focus for completions.
Colliers said the wider UAE market is increasingly being shaped by location, product quality and pricing rather than broad emirate-wide sentiment, following what the firm described as an extended period of exceptionally strong growth.
Unit-level transaction records and project registration data for Dubai are available through the Dubai Land Department‘s open data portal, which publishes completion and sales figures by project and quarter.
