UAE: Luxury office sales surge as demand soars across Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Khaleej Times

3 days ago

A wave of new office developments is on the horizon in Dubai and Abu Dhabi amid surging demand and record occupancy levels, a study showed.
In Dubai alone, 83 office sales valued at more than Dh10 million were completed in the first half of 2025, a 207 per cent uplift on the 27 deals seen in H1 2024, according to the Dubai Office Market Review from global property consultancy Knight Frank.
Downtown continues to dominate Dubai's office sales market, with average prices climbing to more than Dh5,000 per square foot (psf) in H1 2025, significantly outpacing all other submarkets. Business Bay, which has delivered 21.2 per cent growth since 2020, held its position as the second most expensive submarket, with average prices topping Dh2,000 psf for the first time in H1.
Off-plan sales – a key indicator of a healthy market – have also been increasing. Largely concentrated in Business Bay, which is set to deliver more than 1.3 million square feet of office spaces through this model, the surge reflects the strength of investor confidence in purchasing office assets in the city's prime financial hub.
In the leasing market, at an average of Dh400 psf for fitted offices, DIFC remains Dubai's most expensive office location. However, robust rental growth has also been recorded in other established submarkets, including The Greens (Dh260 psf), Dubai Design District (Dh280 psf) and Business Bay (Dh251 psf).
The business services sector continues to be the main driver of office requirements across Dubai, accounting for 38 per cent of total demand in H1 2025, followed by the tech sector (31 per cent), real estate (12 per cent) and banking and finance (10 per cent).
Faisal Durrani, Partner – Head of Research, Mena, said: 'Confidence in Dubai as a global business hub remains exceptionally strong. Indeed, this is reflected in record low vacancy rates for Grade A stock across the city, which stands in sharp contrast to many other global gateway cities. The technology and trading systems sector has emerged as major driver of demand, while sustained activity from financial, real estate and business consulting firms underscores the city's appeal to a diverse range of global occupiers. Developers are moving quickly to capitalise on current demand, with a further 25.2 million square feet expected by 2030, when we forecast the total office stock in the city to approach 148 million square feet. The confidence in the office sector is further evidenced by the boom in high-value transactions, with the number of office sales over Dh10 million setting a record of 83 sales in H1 2025.'
In another indicator of rising demand, DIFC reported its busiest H1 period on record for new company registrations since it opened in September 2004. A total of 1,081 new registrations between January and June has increased the total number of companies active in the centre to 7,700.
Notably, there has been an increase in insurance firms setting up offices in DIFC and it is now home to 135 insurance-related businesses. The number of banking and capital markets businesses operating in DIFC rose to 289 at the end of H1 2025, while the number of wealth and asset management firms climbed to 440 over the same period, representing year-on-year increases of 17 per cent and 18.9 per cent, respectively.
Adam Wynne, Partner – Head of Commercial Agency, UAE, said: 'Market dynamics are driving a clear trend towards consolidation and rightsizing. With existing grade-A space effectively full, large corporations are leveraging the new development pipeline to consolidate their regional operations into more efficient and higher-quality headquarters. Strong demand from single occupiers for entire floors or buildings within the upcoming supply in hubs like DIFC and Business Bay points to this strategic move, as global HQs seek modern buildings that align with corporate mandates.'
Dubai office supply to double
Office supply in Dubai is set to grow by 15.8 million square feet, with Knight Frank forecasting the total gross leasable area in the emirate will reach 137.8 million sqft by 2030.
This development pipeline is heavily concentrated in DIFC, which is forecast to add more than 7 million sqft of build-to-rent office space between 2025 and 2030. Business Bay is also a key growth area, with build-to-sell schemes forming a core part of its future supply, highlighting strong investor confidence in this submarket.
Wynne said: 'In response to near-total occupancy in prime buildings, a significant wave of new supply is on the horizon. We are tracking more than 8 million sqft of new office space due to be delivered by 2028, with much of this space being sold off-plan before completion, a notable change from historic trends.'
Abu Dhabi's rising requirements
Knight Frank's Abu Dhabi Office Market Review for H1 2025 recorded more than 5 million sqft of office requirements in the first half of the year, representing a 110 per cent increase on H1 2024. As in Dubai, the business services sector is the largest demand driver, accounting for 32 per cent of the total, followed by government entities at 9 per cent.
Durrani said: 'New rental contracts in Abu Dhabi have been a primary driver of market activity this year, with transaction volumes experiencing a significant peak in January, signalling fresh demand and business expansion in the UAE capital. Mirroring Dubai, with occupancy levels at record highs across grade-A stock, limited availability is driving up rents for best-in-class space'.
Musaffah recorded the most significant quarter-on-quarter rental growth in Q2 2025 (73 per cent), followed by Al Bateen (68 per cent) and Al Hisn (19 per cent). This was balanced by more established districts such as Al Danah (-2 per cent) and Al Nahyan (-7 per cent) experiencing minor rental corrections in Q2, driven in part by a higher concentration of older secondary stock.
James Hodgetts, Partner – Occupier Strategy & Solutions, MEA, said: 'There is good news on the horizon, with a strong pipeline of high-quality developments poised to be welcome additions to the Abu Dhabi office market. This new supply is likely to help ease current constraints, offering occupiers greater choice and setting new benchmarks for quality, sustainability and design.'
Imminent completions include Aldar's HB Tower in Yas Island (238,647 square feet) and the Saas Business Tower on Al Reem Island (129,210 square feet). Both developments offer the flagship, grade-A space that will appeal to international and domestic corporate occupiers.
Shehzad Jamal, Partner – Strategy and Consultancy, MENA, said: 'Demand is expected to remain robust and will likely continue to outpace the delivery of new premium supply for the remainder of the year, fuelling further rental growth in the prime segment across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Pre-leasing activity for the landmark projects scheduled for 2026-2028 will be a key indicator of market sentiment. We expect the performance gap between grade-A, well-located assets and older, secondary stock to widen further as the flight-to-quality trend intensifies in the short-term.'