Insights · Dubai · 21 August 2026 · 5 min
Developer scorecard: who is actually delivering capital gains.
Volume leaders are not value leaders. Resale data from the last twelve months shows a 25-point spread between developers — which makes who you buy from the most important decision you'll make.
Take every Dubai unit resold in the last twelve months and group the median price change by the developer who built it. Nakheel leads at 31.2%, then Meraas (28.9%) and Emaar (28.6%). Binghatti sits at 20.0% and Ellington at 18.2%. Damac resales gained 11.9%, Danube 11.5%, Azizi 8.5%, Sobha 5.9%.
Now look at volume. Azizi sold 11,225 units so far in 2026 — more than anyone — and shows the lowest resale gain and the lowest absorption of under-construction stock, at 49%. Emaar sold fewer units (5,961) for three times the value (AED 31.9 billion) with 93% absorption. Selling the most is not the same as holding value.
What the spread means in money
On a £300,000 purchase, the difference between a developer at 28% and one at 8% is £60,000 of resale value in a single year. No payment plan, launch discount or broker incentive comes close to that. It dwarfs the difference between a good unit and a great one in the same building.
This is why we compare across developers before we compare units — and why 'which developer' is the first question in our brief, not the last.
Reading the scorecard honestly
A year of resales is a year of resales: it favours developers whose stock completed into a rising market, and it says nothing about the next cycle. Sobha's low figure sits alongside a 99%-sold flagship community and strong pricing — their buyers hold rather than flip. Absorption tells you how fast the market is taking a developer's current launches, which is a better guide to liquidity than any marketing.
We use all three columns — gain, volume and absorption — and we'd be wary of anyone quoting one.
How this shapes what we bring you
Our Dubai allocations come from across these developers, at developer price, with the developer paying our fee — so we have no reason to steer you toward one. The scorecard is our starting filter; the unit, the community's supply and the payment plan come after. Data: DXB Interact (Dubai Land Department), 2026 year to date, accessed 21 August 2026.