Want to be a millionaire? Invest in these Dubai properties

Dubai: Who could become Dubai’s next ‘accidental property millionaire’?

This is how it works – buy a home in Dubai that costs under $1 million. And then wait for property market dynamics to push the price higher and then past the $1 million – or Dh3.67 million – mark.

Then, you become an ‘accidental property millionaire’.

Even if Dubai’s property value gains have slowed down this year, there are locations in Dubai that could see home prices pick up in the medium term.

Some industry sources say some apartments at Dubai Creek Harbour and upscale apartments and townhouses that were initially sold for Dh2.5 million to Dh2.8 million could see steady increases to that Dh3.67 million mark.

Other possible locations would be at Dubai Islands, Dubai Harbour, and, of course, at Palm Jebel Ali when more options are released. Some of the City Walk apartments too are rated as prime candidates for going past the Dh3.67 million mark in time, especially around the time the central park features become part of that landscape.   

Whatever be the case, “the total volume of property millionaires in Dubai has continued to accelerate since 2021,” said Faisal Durrani, Head of Research for MENA markets at the Knight Frank consultancy.

“Our findings indicate that as of 2024, around 110,500 residential units in Dubai – representing 17.5% of the 631,000 total homes sold since 2002 – are now valued at over $1 million.

“Notably, 39,000 of these units are held by ‘accidental millionaires’, which reveals the substantial wealth created through real estate ownership in Dubai over the past two decades.” (The Knight Frank data only tracks properties that ‘remain in the same ownership’. This ‘allows for a clearer picture of wealth generation through residential real estate holdings’, said Durrani.) 

Of course, many of those accidental millionaires were created because they had investments in the right places at the right time.

Because the second Dubai property boom took off from late 2021 and that still continues to show in the sales numbers to date. It meant that property prices were growing in 20%-40% terms between late 2021 to early 2024 before stabilizing.

“I had three properties on the Palm Jumeirah that were actually quoting at under their sales values of under Dh2.2 million each in 2020,” said a long-time investor in Dubai. “I was seriously considering selling it before prices dropped any further.

“But by early 2022, I was getting calls every 10-15 minutes from brokers wanting to know whether I was planning to sell them at 30%-60% mark ups on those homes.”

There are many others who have experienced the same prices surge – and cashing in on the handsome returns. Locations such as Dubai Marina, Dubai Downtown, and other locations too returned their share of new wealth creation for property owners.   

The real estate boom Dubai experienced from 2021 could be seen as one-of-a-kind. But there are locations that could see enough value growth for properties there to come closer to Dh3.67 million. And higher.

“Being a vast waterfront development, Dubai Creek Harbour offers the mix of marina and downtown living,” said Aakarshan Kathuria, CEO of RiseUp. “Currently, there are apartments that average the $800,000 mark - and with great upside prospects following the announcement of Dubai Metro Blue Line, directly linking Dubai Creek Harbour to the Downtown and Airport.

 “There is also the Dubai South, where conservative estimates can expect property value appreciation of 10%+ annually in the next 3 years.

“For instance, the average townhouse pricing there now starts around the $650,000 mark and has seen one of the fastest price appreciation in 2025.”

In other words, taking them closer to the $1 million mark. Keep in mind, there will also be price pulls created by the Al Maktoum International Airport.

In fact, the wider Jebel Ali area could see the next boom developing – there are more projects launching these days and what industry sources say are prices with significant upside potential towards Dh3.67 million in the next 3-7 years.

Of course, another full-scale property boom could shorten the distance to Dh3.67 million. And create more accidental property millionaires.