18 September 2026
Commercial property in the UAE set new price records in the first half of 2026. According to Property Finder data published on 18 September 2026, the average sale price of a retail unit on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah rose from AED 4.4 million in H1 2025 to AED 19.7 million in H1 2026, an increase of 348 percent year on year. RAK Central climbed 254 percent, from AED 3.4 million to AED 11.9 million, and Al Hamra Village added 44 percent to AED 2.4 million. In Dubai, retail rents in Deira rose 61.5 percent year on year to AED 643,855, office rents in Jumeirah Lakes Towers gained 30.6 percent to AED 475,870 and Business Bay offices added 11.4 percent to AED 421,041.
What the report covers
The figures come from Property Finder, the UAE property portal, which analysed commercial sale and rental prices across four emirates, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, for the first six months of 2026 and compared them with the same period of 2025. The report was picked up on 18 September 2026 by The Week and Khaleej Times.
This is portal listing data on asking and transacted prices for shops, showrooms and offices, not a government transaction register. It is a market snapshot rather than an official statistic, and the averages for small submarkets move sharply when a handful of large units change hands. That matters most in Ras Al Khaimah, where the base is thin and the headline percentages are correspondingly large.
Ras Al Khaimah leads on retail
Ras Al Khaimah produced the largest increases in the country. Al Marjan Island, the man made archipelago where the emirate concentrates its tourism and leisure development, recorded the steepest jump of all.
| Location (Ras Al Khaimah) | Indicator | H1 2026 | Change year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Marjan Island | average retail sale price | AED 19.7 million | up 348 percent, from AED 4.4 million |
| RAK Central | average retail sale price | AED 11.9 million | up 254 percent, from AED 3.4 million |
| Al Hamra Village | average retail sale price | AED 2.4 million | up 44 percent |
| Al Marjan Island | average office sale price | AED 8.6 million | not stated |
| Al Marjan Island | average retail rent | AED 181,564 | up 5.8 percent |
| Mina Al Arab | average retail rent | AED 187,490 | up 109.9 percent |
| Al Qusaidat | average retail rent | AED 58,528 | up 83.3 percent |
| Al Seer | average office rent | AED 61,211 | up more than 100 percent |
| Corniche | average office rent | AED 155,058 | up 15.6 percent |
| Julfar | average office sale price | AED 613,800 | up 3.9 percent |
The gap between sale prices and rents on Al Marjan Island is the detail worth noting. Capital values for retail units multiplied by more than four, while the average retail rent on the same island rose only 5.8 percent. Buyers are paying for a location that is still being built out, not for current rental income.
The second quarter already cooled
The same dataset shows the peak is behind the first quarter. On Al Marjan Island the average retail sale price slipped 4.4 percent between the quarters, from AED 20.1 million in the first quarter to AED 19.2 million in the second. The 348 percent headline is a comparison with a much weaker first half of 2025, and it sits alongside a quarter on quarter decline. Property Finder describes Ras Al Khaimah as a retail hotspot driven by tourism and luxury development, with a cooling in the second quarter.
Ras Al Khaimah residential prices moved in the same direction in the same period, which we covered in our note on Ras Al Khaimah property prices in H1 2026 and the 13,800 homes due by 2028. The commercial numbers are the second half of that story.
Dubai: Deira retail and JLT offices lead
Dubai showed a wide spread. Some districts posted double digit growth while others fell.
| Dubai location | Indicator | H1 2026 | Change year on year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deira | average retail rent | AED 643,855 | up 61.5 percent |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | average retail rent | AED 511,536 | up 33.4 percent |
| Arjan | average retail rent | AED 422,612 | up 19.3 percent |
| International City | average retail rent | not stated | down 11.4 percent |
| Sheikh Zayed Road | average office rent | AED 578,394 | up 14.5 percent |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | average office rent | AED 475,870 | up 30.6 percent |
| Business Bay | average office rent | AED 421,041 | up 11.4 percent |
| Deira | average office rent | AED 64,391 | up 23.4 percent |
| Bur Dubai | average office rent | not stated | down 29.2 percent |
| Business Bay | average office sale price | AED 10.6 million | not stated |
| Jumeirah Lakes Towers | average office sale price | AED 6 million | not stated |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | average office sale price | AED 2.45 million | not stated |
Two readings stand out. First, the cheapest office stock is repricing fastest: Deira offices average AED 64,391 a year, an order of magnitude below Sheikh Zayed Road, and still gained 23.4 percent. Second, the declines are real: Bur Dubai office rents fell 29.2 percent and International City retail rents fell 11.4 percent, so an emirate wide average would hide most of what is happening.
Abu Dhabi and Sharjah
Growth outside Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah was steadier. In Abu Dhabi, retail rents in Khalifa City averaged AED 665,200, up 17.1 percent, and Al Raha Beach reached AED 317,449, up 8.5 percent. Office rents on Al Reem Island averaged AED 570,030, up 7.4 percent, while office sale prices there rose 28 percent to AED 3.8 million. Retail sale prices in Al Raha Beach gained 11.5 percent to AED 5.2 million.
In Sharjah the movement was concentrated in offices. Al Majaz office rents rose 64.4 percent to AED 121,627, Al Qasimia added 41.3 percent to AED 122,765 and the Industrial Area gained 57.3 percent to AED 61,262. Retail rents in Muwaileh rose 42.3 percent to AED 88,796. The absolute numbers remain the lowest of the four emirates in the study, which is why Sharjah keeps drawing back office, light industrial and service tenants priced out of Dubai.
What this changes for a company taking space
Nothing in the report is a rule change: there is no new fee, no new threshold and no effective date. It is a price signal, and it is uneven. For a business planning an office or a shop in the UAE, the practical points are these.
- Averages by district are now more useful than averages by emirate. In Dubai the same half year produced growth of 61.5 percent in one retail district and a decline of 11.4 percent in another.
- Rent and purchase price are moving apart in Ras Al Khaimah. On Al Marjan Island, capital values grew 348 percent while rents grew 5.8 percent, so a purchase there is a bet on the destination, not on yield.
- Quarterly data is worth requesting. The first half headline for Al Marjan Island hides a 4.4 percent decline between the first and second quarters.
- A free zone licence and a leased office are a package. In most free zones the lease or flexi desk is issued with the licence, so the market rents above apply mainly to mainland premises and to free zones that allow external space.
- Budget the deposit and the fit out, not just the annual rent. Commercial leases in the UAE are usually quoted as an annual figure, with service charges and Ejari registration on top.
How Atlant Capital can help
We work with companies choosing where to place a legal entity and physical premises in the UAE. That starts with the licence and the jurisdiction: our company setup service covers mainland and free zone registration, and our guide on mainland versus free zone in the UAE sets out where an office lease is mandatory and where a flexi desk is enough. If the plan involves buying commercial property rather than renting it, our guide to mortgages in the UAE for residents and non residents explains the financing side, including what lenders ask of a corporate borrower. Once the entity exists, we handle corporate bank account opening so that rent, deposits and service charges can be paid from a local account. The full sequence from name reservation to licence is set out in our UAE company formation guide.
The wider picture
The commercial figures follow a first half in which residential prices also rose across the country, which we summarised in our review of UAE real estate in H1 2026 across all emirates. New supply is coming: Aldar is building 25,000 sq m of Grade A offices inside Saadiyat Grove in Abu Dhabi, due to open in the fourth quarter of 2026. Whether that supply pulls the averages back is the question the next Property Finder half year report will answer.
Source: The Week, Khaleej Times.
FAQ
How much did retail property prices rise on Al Marjan Island in 2026?
The average sale price of a retail unit on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah rose from AED 4.4 million in the first half of 2025 to AED 19.7 million in the first half of 2026, an increase of 348 percent. The figure comes from Property Finder data published on 18 September 2026. Within 2026 the average slipped 4.4 percent between the first quarter, AED 20.1 million, and the second, AED 19.2 million.
Which Dubai districts saw the biggest commercial rent increases in H1 2026?
Retail rents in Deira rose 61.5 percent year on year to AED 643,855, the largest increase among the Dubai retail locations in the report, followed by Jumeirah Village Circle at 33.4 percent and Arjan at 19.3 percent. For offices, Jumeirah Lakes Towers led with 30.6 percent to AED 475,870, ahead of Deira at 23.4 percent, Sheikh Zayed Road at 14.5 percent and Business Bay at 11.4 percent.
Did any UAE commercial rents fall in the first half of 2026?
Yes. Office rents in Bur Dubai fell 29.2 percent year on year and retail rents in International City fell 11.4 percent. The market moved by district rather than uniformly, so an emirate wide average hides both the largest increases and the declines.
Which emirates does the Property Finder commercial report cover?
The analysis covers commercial sale and rental prices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah for the first six months of 2026, compared with the same period of 2025. It is portal listing data on shops, showrooms and offices, not a government transaction register, so averages in small submarkets can move sharply on a few deals.
