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.

The Islands accounted for more than 10% of sales totaling more than Dh10 million in the last three years, according to international real estate consultancy Knight Frank, indicating that the region may hold its value and develop into 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. A total of over Dh1 billion has changed hands for 97 Jumeirah Islands residences in the past year.

Dubai is a developing market that has evolved, according to Will McKintosh, regional partner and head of residential for Mena at Knight Frank.

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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.”

In addition to the city’s 44% decline in prime home listings to approximately 4,900 properties, the number of homes up for sale on Jumeirah Islands has dropped by 28% in the past year to 279 homes due to the high demand for these properties, according to Faisal Durrani, partner and head of research for Mena at Knight Frank.

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He continued by saying that buyers are still paying record prices for properties in the Islands and are spending comparable sums on renovations, which suggests that the market has been characterized by a longer-term buy-to-hold or buy-to-live mentality for the past four years.

“The ‘competition for space’ drove Dubai’s villa prices, which increased by 17% in the past year, and the same was true for Jumeirah Islands, as we witnessed during the pandemic. 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.

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The urge to buy a villa in Dubai rises with net worth, according to Shehzad Jamal, partner for strategy and consultation for MEA at Knight Frank. It goes from 30% for individuals with a net worth of $2–5 million to 48% for those with personal wealth levels of more than $15 million. When considering high-net-worth individuals worldwide, this percentage increases to 59% when their net worth exceeds $20 million.