Why do so many millionaires want to live in Dubai?
Savis Realty
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Billionaires and millionaires are continuing to flock to Dubai, redefining the concept of luxury homes. The city has emerged as a key player in the global prime market, promising exclusivity and delivering value without compromising on location, innovation, and investment potential.
Dubai continues to be a standout destination for prime residential property, with capital values increasing 6.8 per cent and rents growing by a record-breaking 23.5 per cent in 2024. Population growth and an influx of high-net-worth individuals and family offices to the UAE are underpinning strong demand for residential property, particularly in the prime markets,” Andrew Cummings, head of residential.
The record of brokering Dubai’s most expensive property — a Dh600 million villa on Palm Jumeirah. According to Cummings, over the past two years, Dubai has not just propelled itself into the top three, but emerged in a category of its own. “If we look at $10 million (Dh36 million) sales, for example, Dubai led the way last year and was nearly double the number of $10 million home sales in New York and London. The investors are coming from Singapore, Monaco, and London. And prime property price in Dubai per square foot is around one-third of London, one-tenth of Monaco.
Prime property in the emirate averages around $930 per sqft compared to $3,860 in Hong Kong, $2,590 in New York, $2,550 in Geneva, $2,120 in Tokyo, and $2,000 in Shanghai. “Millionaires are happily willing to trade their luxury 1,2,3-bedroom apartment of 1,500 sqft to buy a 10,000 sqft villa here in Dubai,” added Cummings, who sees many more properties coming online in the $50-$200 million space.
Getting above that, it needs to be a really unique proposition. The most likely thing to break the Dh600 million record is going to be an enormous ultra-luxury super high-end penthouse that will come to the market next year. I don’t think we have a number of villas on the market at the moment that can break that record. Normally, $100 million is sort of where the cap gets to. Something has to be quite different to get above that number.
Cummings said Dubai developers have made amenities part of their regular offerings — especially in prime projects. He cited branded interiors, luxury fit-out gyms, saunas, sports courts, doctors, and nannies on call as examples. Tying up with car brands takes prime property to the next level of comfort opulence. He highlighted a high-end project that allows property buyers to take their supercars to the floor they reside in.
Capital value and rental growth are going from strength to strength and attracting new residents from across the globe in recent years,” he added, citing the recent World Cities Prime Residential report by Savills. “Dubai innovates. The interesting thing about Dubai is that it sets the bar, and then it chooses to jump over that bar. We’re going to continue to see that as developers race to try to keep up with the demand and to innovate to keep the old client at work.
In terms of investment potential, Dubai is also a perennial leader in capital value appreciation. There is a forecast to see the strongest growth in 2025 with anticipated prime price growth of 8 to 9.9 per cent during the year.
Prime rental values increased by 23.5 per cent over 2024, surpassing the 2016 market peak. With a surge of new residents from across the region and the globe, many may choose to rent a property in the market before they decide where and when to buy… The market has seen a surge in demand from domestic and international renters who are looking to obtain a piece of the Dubai lifestyle.
Cummings also noted more ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UNHWIs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are moving to Dubai. “They’re choosing Dubai because there are world-class schools and healthcare facilities. In addition, security and safety for the uber-rich is increasingly prominent.
The ultra-rich choose to be in Dubai. The city invests in convincing them to live here. “It basically sets the playing field for you to choose, to actively live, invest and work here. It has done that incredibly well for the UHNWI community.
I can’t count the number of clients that I’ve spoken to who are just happy. They can wear half-a-million-dollar watches openly in the city, or drive whatever car they want...So the lifestyle element has been a big thing that’s driven a lot of those capital markets.
Traditionally, Indians are always “big buyers” of real estate. There is a huge uptick from the UK, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, said the expert. “We are seeing a real influx on the European side at the moment, particularly due to short flight times, ease of access, ability to spend more time here, and running their businesses back home from Dubai.
Cummings noted that ultra-high-net-worth individuals have multiple homes. “People say UHNWIs buy it as a second home. It’s not really a second home. They have three homes, spending a certain period in Dubai and a certain period elsewhere. Traditionally, people may come for a month or two. For example, a lot of people may arrive in December and leave at the end of January.
Connectivity is also central for UHNWIs wherever they live. “The world has never been more connected than it is now, and Dubai has never been more central to that connection. There is a movement of wealth around the world, which is unprecedented. Dubai has positioned itself at the very heart of that.