Ready vs Off-Plan Dubai Q3 2025 – Momentum check
Dubai’s Q3 2025 housing market found its rhythm between the certainty of ready homes and the promise of off-plan launches. With over 71,000 transactions and a near-even split between the two, the quarter revealed a city comfortable with its dual-speed maturity. This report explores how both segments now coexist, one fuelling liquidity, the other securing long-term stability.
Market Overview – Reading the Q3 Balance
Dubai’s residential market entered the third quarter of 2025 with momentum carried forward from a year of unbroken activity. What defined Q3, however, was not another surge in transactions but a shift in balance between certainty and promise, between the ready homes that anchor the market and the off-plan projects that continue to fuel its growth.
A total of 71,194 freehold apartment transactions were registered during the quarter, marking a steady 7.5 percent increase over Q2. The split between ready and off-plan homes settled at 44.9 percent and 55.1 percent respectively – a ratio that has now remained broadly stable for three consecutive quarters. This equilibrium signals a maturing rhythm: buyers are no longer favouring one mode over the other, but choosing based on time horizon and trust.
| Segment | Share of Transactions | Median Ticket (AED) | Median AED/sq.ft | QoQ Change |
| Off-Plan | 55.1% | 1,390,000 | 1,585 | +4.1% |
| Ready | 44.9% | 1,320,000 | 1,540 | +3.2% |
Scope: Residential Freehold Flats only, DLD-registered transactions Q3 2025.
Off-plan continued to thrive in active corridors such as JVC, Arjan, and Business Bay, where developers maintained a steady launch pipeline and flexible payment schedules. Ready homes, meanwhile, drew strength from Marina, Downtown, and Dubai Hills, where end-user confidence and lease conversions remained high.
The quarter, therefore, was less about competition between the two and more about how they complemented each other, off-plan absorbing demand for affordability and yield, ready homes providing security and tangible possession.
📝 Interpretation
The 55:45 ratio has become the market’s comfort zone. Off-plan’s share shows the appetite for future value, while ready stock continues to act as the anchor of reliability. The data suggests that Dubai’s buyers are now confident enough to participate across both modes, with decisions guided more by project credibility and price bracket than by the development stage itself.
🧭 AIQYA Insight
The equilibrium between ready and off-plan reflects a balanced maturity in buyer behaviour. For investors, this means opportunity in timing, off-plan for cost efficiency, and planned appreciation, ready stock for immediate yield. For developers, the message is clear: promise alone no longer sells; trust and timely delivery define the new off-plan advantage.
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