Hundreds of Dubai tenants moved home this summer to take advantage of lower rents, with new leases outnumbering renewals for the first time since records began in January 2023, according to an analysis by fäm Properties of Dubai Land Department tenancy registrations.
New leases overtake renewals for the first time
New leases exceeded renewals by 633 contracts in July and by 2,139 in August. Before this summer, renewals had outnumbered new leases for 36 consecutive months. The shift was concentrated in mid-market and prime districts.
Why tenants are moving
The main driver is price. Rents on new leases for the same building and unit type are now 15.3% lower than in January, while renewal rents have fallen only about 1%.
“The reason for this is very simply about price,” said Firas Al Msaddi, founder and CEO of fäm Properties. He explained that staying put used to be in tenants’ interest because moving is challenging, but they can now relocate to a comparable apartment for less than a renewal would cost.
Dubai Districts Seeing the Biggest Switch
Data from DXBinteract shows that in August, new leases outnumbered renewals in several popular areas:
- Jumeirah Village Circle (Al Barsha South Fourth): 1,102
- Business Bay: 609
- Al Merkadh: 598
- Dubai Marina (Marsa Dubai): 564
- Downtown Dubai: 342
In more affordable districts such as International City (Al Warsan First), Jebel Ali (Jabal Ali First) and Dubai Silicon Oasis (Nadd Hessa), renewals still outnumbered new leases.
Leasing Activity Remains Steady
Overall demand has held up. New-lease contracts from January to August are 1% below the same period in 2025, with July (about 14,100) and August (about 15,600) both above last year’s levels. Renewals are also 1% lower year on year.
The median rent on new apartment leases stood at Dhs 94.6 per square foot in August, 8.3% below the October 2025 peak of Dhs 103.1.
Al Msaddi said newly signed leases are weighted towards better-quality, better-located properties, so the average rent holds up even as the price of any given apartment drops. Landlords who responded to market conditions secured tenants, while others moved to benefit from lower rents, which is why registered contract volumes stayed steady while rents fell.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
