Dubai, UAE — Nine homes in Dubai sold for more than AED 100 million each between July and September, roughly Rs 262 crore apiece. Fewer buyers are paying at that level than a year ago, and prices at the top of Dubai prime property have started to slip for the first time since 2020.
India’s top end is going the other way. Homes above Rs 10 crore in Mumbai sold a record Rs 18,512 crore in the first half of 2026, up 12%, according to India Sotheby’s International Realty and CRE Matrix.
257 Homes Above AED 20 Million, With Sales Down 40%
Buyers spent $2.61 billion (AED 9.6 billion) on 257 homes priced above AED 20 million in the third quarter. That is from a Cavendish Maxwell report published on Monday, reported by Arabian Business.
Sales in the consultancy’s luxury band fell 40% from a year earlier, and its ultra-luxury band fell 34%. The 42 homes in that top band still sold for $925.8 million.
The wider market is softer too. Cavendish Maxwell said average residential prices were 2.2% lower in September than a year earlier, and transactions fell more than 38% in the quarter.
The Palm Is Down 9.1%, But Still The Busiest Address
Knight Frank said prices across the 10 communities it tracks for Dubai prime property fell 5% between the second and third quarters. Palm Jumeirah averaged AED 4,083 per sq ft, 9.1% lower than a year earlier. It still recorded 27 sales above $10 million, the most of any area, and the largest was AED 260 million.
“Dubai’s iconic Palm Jumeirah remains a hub of deal activity,” said Louis Harding, head of UAE residential at Knight Frank. He said buyers there mostly want homes to live in or use for holidays, not to resell quickly.
Over nine months, Dubai prime property still recorded 412 sales above $10 million, up from 357 a year earlier. The slowdown is recent.
Also read: Dubai luxury home sales drop 34% as regional conflict bites
Worli’s Best Towers Now Price Above The Palm
At about 26.2 rupees to the dirham, the Palm’s average works out to roughly Rs 1.07 lakh per sq ft. In August, a 7,303 sq ft apartment at Three Sixty West in Worli sold for Rs 110.41 crore, Free Press Journal reported, or about Rs 1.51 lakh per sq ft.
The comparison is uneven. The Palm figure is an average, while Worli’s comes from its most expensive towers. The two markets also measure area differently. Still, a top-floor flat in Mumbai can now cost more per square foot than the average at the busiest address in Dubai prime property.
Mumbai is not India’s only market at this level. Gurugram sold Rs 24,120 crore of homes above Rs 10 crore in 2025, ahead of Mumbai’s Rs 21,902 crore, according to the same research series, with units almost tripling to 1,494.
AED 20 Million Is 22 Years Of One LRS Allowance
For a buyer living in India, the entry point to Dubai prime property in Cavendish Maxwell’s data is hard to reach. AED 20 million is about $5.45 million, or Rs 52 crore. The Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme lets one person send $250,000 a year, so that home would take nearly 22 years of one person’s allowance, or 11 for a couple.
Remittances above Rs 10 lakh also carry 20% tax collected at source. So the Indian money in Dubai prime property largely belongs to NRIs, UAE residents and families with assets already abroad. Indians made up about 22% of Dubai’s buyers in 2025, Anarock has said, though that figure covers all price bands.
Currency has eaten into the Dubai prime property discount for anyone converting rupees. The dirham has gained about 6.8% against the rupee this year, which offsets much of the Palm’s 9.1% fall.
291,800 New Homes Due Over Two Years
Cavendish Maxwell counts 291,800 homes scheduled for delivery in 2027 and 2028, although completions depend on construction progress. Their effect on the top end will depend on how many comparable homes reach each neighbourhood.
The risk shows up on the Palm first. Its average price is 9.1% below last year’s, a paper loss for anyone who bought then.
Knight Frank’s Q4 Numbers Will Show If Dubai Prime Property Has Turned
Knight Frank’s fourth-quarter data will show whether the 5% drop in prime prices was a one-off. A second fall would be the first back-to-back decline at the top end since 2020.
In India, the question is whether Mumbai and Gurugram can keep setting records while Dubai prime property cools.
Rs 262 Crore Homes, And Two Top Ends Heading Apart
For investors, Dubai prime property now offers more choice and softer prices than a year ago. It also offers less certainty about resale. End-users who plan to live in these homes, the group Knight Frank says dominates the Palm, are less exposed to that. For Indian buyers, the comparison with Worli and Gurugram has shifted. The best Indian addresses now cost as much as Dubai’s, and Dubai’s top end is cooling. Remittance limits keep most of this market open only to NRIs and families with money already abroad.
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