News: Emaar’s Alabbar Calls 15% Dubai Price Fall ’Unrealistic’-12-03-2026

Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar has rejected the idea of a 15% price correction in Dubai real estate as "very unrealistic", saying demand is strong and sellers are holding firm on prices despite the US-Israel-Iran war.

In an interview with CNBC, he said sellers remain confident and he is "not concerned at all". Consumer confidence might be shaken a little in such a situation and there could be some cooling, he said, though he does not see it, and the country’s policies restore confidence quickly.

Ratings agency Fitch said last year that Dubai prices could decline by double digits in the second half of 2025 and in 2026. With planned deliveries set to reach 210,000 units, double the previous three years, the agency noted that the surge in supply is expected to limit any price drop to no more than 15%.

Alabbar took the opposite view of the supply due in 2026 and 2027, calling it good news that would let the market cool slightly and support sustainable long-term growth. He said he had made the same point about a year ago. Developers are in business for the long term, he said, and pushing prices too high benefits nobody. The market has moved up and down before, and he believes there is significant demand for development in the UAE, especially Dubai.

He said neither rents nor property prices should be too high because that works against economic progress, and estimated that real estate values contribute almost 50%-52% towards inflation.

At current prices developers are making enough money, Alabbar said, and "we should not shoot too high". He favours more supply so that investors and people arriving for jobs do not find the city too expensive, a view he said he also hears from policymakers. He stressed he was not saying so because he is a developer.

What he wants, he said, is stability and a long-term outlook, with a modest adjustment as supply arrives and eases pressure on prices, which would be good for the city. Asked what kind of adjustment to expect, he said he would like rents and property prices to remain at the present level and not go beyond it, since everybody is making enough money.

Alabbar added that Dubai’s average prices per square foot and per square metre, for renting or buying a villa or apartment, compare well with global benchmarks, and the city should stay in that range, though there will be inflation.