After a red-hot start to the year, Dubai's office market took a breather in Q2 2026. Transaction volumes dropped sharply but sales value barely moved, a gap that tells a more interesting story than the headline number alone. Buyers didn't leave the market, they just got more picky.
The Numbers: A Sharp Volume Drop, a Soft Value Dip
Dubai recorded 1,005 office transactions in Q2 2026, down 35.8% from the 1,565 units sold in Q1. Yet total sales value fell by just 8%, from AED 8.2 billion to AED 7.5 billion.
That gap between a 36% drop in deals and an 8% drop in value isn't a coincidence, it's a signal. The average deal size jumped more than 40% quarter-on-quarter, which points to one thing: institutional and high-net-worth buyers kept committing serious capital to premium office assets, even as smaller, price-sensitive strata investors pulled back from a market that leans heavily on in-person viewings and quick decisions.
Zoom out to a year-on-year view and the picture gets even more compelling. Office transactions are up 4% compared to Q2 2025 (1,005 vs. 965 units) but sales value has surged an estimated 190%, from roughly AED 2.6 billion to AED 7.5 billion.
In other words, the repricing of Dubai's best office stock isn't a one-quarter blip it's more of a structural shift that's been building for well over a year.
Business Bay Still Runs the Show
Business Bay held onto its title as Dubai's top office destination in Q2, with 441 transactions - nearly half of all office activity citywide. Al Sufouh 1 came in a distant second with 118 deals, followed by Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) with 110.
Looking at unit sizes across these top locations, small footprints dominated: units under 1,500 sq ft made up 61.3% of all transactions, driven by SMEs, startups and solo operators chasing efficient, flexible space.
Mid-sized units told a different story, the 1,500–2,000 sq ft and 2,000–2,500 sq ft brackets accounted for just 9.1% and 8.1% of deals respectively. Demand is clearly clustering at the small and large ends of the market, leaving the middle underserved.
Explore offices for rent in Business Bay here
Secondary Market Prices Ease Slightly
Average price per sq ft in the secondary office market slipped to AED 1,954 in Q2, down from AED 2,023 in Q1, a contraction of roughly 3.4%. The dip lines up with the regional conflict that broke out at the end of February, which appears to have nudged some investors and end-users toward caution during the quarter.
Still, a 3.4% pullback is a mild adjustment, not a warning sign. It suggests Dubai's office market is absorbing a geopolitical shock without any real damage to its underlying fundamentals. Whether this pricing dip proves temporary or the start of a longer trend is something worth watching closely over the next few quarters.
The Bottom Line
Q2 2026 wasn't a step back for Dubai's office market, it was a filtering out of the froth. Fewer and more deliberate transactions replaced the high-volume activity of Q1 and the "flight to quality" that's defined the sector since late 2025 is still firmly in place. For investors and occupiers alike, the message is consistent: Grade A office space in prime locations remains the market's clear centre of gravity.
If you want the full commercial property rundown for Dubai in Q2 2026, read our free quarterly report here
Want deeper insight into where Dubai's commercial real estate market is heading? [Get in touch with CRC Property's advisory team] to discuss opportunities across Dubai's office, retail and industrial sectors.
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