After Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island, and Palm Jumeirah, elites seeking to settle in Dubai have turned to Jumeirah Islands as a new hunting area.

According to international real estate consultancy Knight Frank, the Islands accounted for more than 10% of all transactions valued at more than Dh10 million during the previous three years, indicating that the region may maintain its value and become a desirable neighborhood.

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A 4,500 square foot, 4-bedroom house in the man-made island cluster sold for Dh28 million, or Dh5,111 per square foot, in late December 2023, making it the most expensive property to sell. In the past 12 months, 97 Jumeirah Islands residences valued at about Dh1 billion have changed hands.

Will McKintosh, regional partner and Knight Frank’s head of residential for Mena, emphasized that Dubai is now an established market rather than an emerging one.

He continued, “It is only a matter of time before other areas like Tilal Al Ghaf, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Al Barari, and/or Blue Waters also make the transition to prime status. The growing list of prime residential neighbourhoods is yet another sign of maturity bedding in.”

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According to Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for Mena at Knight Frank, the number of prime home listings in the city has dropped by 44% to approximately 4,900 properties in the last year, with a further 28% decrease in the number of homes available for sale to 279 due to the high demand for properties on the Jumeirah Islands.

He went on to say that purchasers are not only paying record prices for properties in the Islands, but they are also investing comparable sums in renovations, clearly indicating a longer-term buy-to-hold or buy-to-live mindset that has dominated the market for the previous four years.

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The “race for space,” which has been evident throughout the pandemic, has contributed to the 17% increase in Dubai villa prices over the past 12 months, and Jumeirah Islands prices have also soared. The constant increase in demand from overseas buyers for waterfront houses or those with access to parks and/or green areas has also played a role in its rise to the elite club; Jumeirah Islands offers both, according to Durrani.

According to Shehzad Jamal, partner at Knight Frank for strategy and consulting for MEA, the desire to own a villa in Dubai increases with net worth, rising from 30% for individuals with a net worth of $2–5 million to 48% for those with personal wealth levels over $15 million. With a net worth of more than $20 million, this percentage rises even higher to 59% among high net worth persons worldwide.