Dubai Studio Entry Price Holds at Dh660,000 as Launches Move to Cheaper Areas

Reidin's study tracks off-plan launches in Dubai from 2024 to the first half of 2026. It found that the cheapest third of the market accounted for 48 per cent of studio launches in the first half of 2026, up from about 25 per cent in the first half of 2024. Over the same period, larger units moved the other way: the share of three-bedroom launches in the cheapest areas fell from 42 per cent to 19 per cent.

Prices Rose Within Each Segment

The report compares 2024 launches with 2025 and 2026 combined. The median studio price in the lower-priced areas rose from Dh600,000 to Dh620,000, and in the rest of the market it rose from Dh703,000 to Dh750,000. The overall median stayed at Dh660,000 because the cheaper areas' share of studio launches grew from 31 per cent to 52 per cent.

Reidin estimates that if 2025 and 2026 studios had been launched in the same locations as in 2024, the median entry price would have been about Dh685,000, roughly 4 per cent higher than it is. The report concludes that the entry ticket stayed level largely because launches moved to cheaper districts, not because prices held steady within those districts.

The firm defines the cheapest third separately for each unit type by ranking areas on median launch price per square foot. For studios, that covers 17 of the 49 areas where studios are launched, at Dh1,584 per square foot or less.

Where Launches Are Happening

Jumeirah Village Circle led studio launches in 2024 with 60 projects. In the first half of 2026, Dubai Industrial City took the lead, followed by Dubai Investment Park, Arjan, Dubai Production City, Dubai South and Jumeirah Village Circle. Four of the top seven studio launch areas in the first half of 2026 fall in the cheapest third, compared with two of the top five in 2024.

For three-bedroom homes, none of the leading launch areas in the first half of 2026 was in the cheapest third, against three of six in 2024. Dubai Islands led launches of these units across the periods studied, with 75 projects in 2025 alone, about a fifth of that year's total.

Reidin said the market is splitting at either end. One- and two-bedroom launches have stayed fairly stable in location, while studios have moved towards cheaper areas and larger family units towards more expensive ones.

The study covers 1,961 projects announced between January 2024 and June 2026, of which 1,691 were apartment projects. Reidin stressed that it uses developers' published launch prices, not completed sale prices. The analysis therefore shows how developers are pricing and placing new supply, not whether the units have sold.

Why It Matters

For investors and lenders, the findings show that a flat headline figure can hide rising prices. Buyers entering at the bottom of Dubai's off-plan market are paying the same amount as before, but for studios in more peripheral districts. Developers are also putting more of their family-sized supply in higher-priced locations.