Dubai’s Ultra-Luxury Villa Resale Market is Driven by Cash and Completion

Dubai, UAE – Dubai’s ultra-luxury villa resale market is being shaped overwhelmingly by cash buyers prioritising completed properties and minimal execution risk, according to a new market analysis covering transactions above AED 40 million.

Data from a study by fäm Luxe, the high-end residential division of fäm Properties, shows that 169 resale transactions were recorded in this price bracket in 2025, with a total transaction value of AED 11.57 billion. Only 15.7% of these deals involved mortgage financing, underscoring the dominance of cash buyers at the top end of the market.

The analysis further indicates that 98% of resale villa transactions during the year involved fully completed properties, with just 2% linked to homes still under construction. This contrasts sharply with Dubai’s apartment resale market, where 28% of transactions were for off-plan units, highlighting a clear divergence in risk appetite between ultra-luxury villa buyers and other residential segments.

Also read: Nordic by fäm Redefines Dubai’s Ultra-Luxury Market with Build-First Strategy

According to Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties, the resale market offers a clearer picture of genuine buyer behaviour because it is largely unaffected by leverage or short-term speculative activity. “Demand for luxury villas is overwhelmingly concentrating on completed product,” Al Msaddi said. “This is happening because villas are personal assets, delivering privacy, scale, layout, light, finishes, and surroundings which can’t be verified before completion.”

He added that buyers operating at this level are not driven by yield considerations. “Luxury villa buyers do not tolerate uncertainty because they do not need to. They are not chasing yield; they are allocating capital into lifestyle, privacy, and long-term security.”

Transaction data from DXBinteract provides further granularity on activity across price bands in 2025. A total of AED 2.74 billion was traded in the AED 40–50 million range, followed by AED 3.49 billion in the AED 50–70 million segment. Transactions between AED 70–100 million accounted for AED 1.82 billion, while villas priced between AED 100–200 million generated AED 2.46 billion in resale value. Higher price brackets saw AED 719 million traded in the AED 200–300 million range and AED 330 million between AED 300–600 million.

The AED 50–70 million segment emerged as the most active over the past three years, recording the highest annual resale values. Transaction volumes in this band rose from AED 2.40 billion in 2023 to AED 3.33 billion in 2024, before reaching AED 3.49 billion in 2025. Of the 159 transactions recorded in this range over the three-year period, only 24 were mortgage-backed, reinforcing the prevalence of cash-led decision-making.

Also read: Off-Plan vs Ready Properties in Dubai: What Works Best for Indian Buyers?

This buyer behaviour has begun to influence development strategies at the ultra-luxury end of the market. Nordic by fäm, the development arm of the group, has adopted a build-first approach for its AED 3 billion portfolio of luxury villas under development in Dubai. Under this model, homes are released to the market only after completion and furnishing.

The first two completed villas under this strategy, located in Dubai’s Al Wasl district, were sold for AED 61.5 million and AED 76 million respectively. More than 20 villas are currently under development, including a 35,000 sq ft residence scheduled for completion in December and expected to be listed at approximately AED 275 million.

Al Msaddi said the approach reflects the expectations of buyers at this level. “Buyers at this level wait for completion because they want to walk the land, experience privacy, inspect finishes, and understand surroundings, light, and noise, which can only happen after completion,” he said.

The findings suggest that Dubai’s ultra-luxury villa segment is functioning primarily as a wealth preservation market rather than a speculative one. Capital deployment in this category appears guided by patience and verification rather than leverage or projected returns, aligning it more closely with mature global luxury housing markets where certainty and asset quality outweigh pricing momentum.