Home / Insights / H1 2026 Market Review
Featured report · H1 2026
Prices, absorption, off-plan vs ready, and the towers pulling the most volume — my full first-half read on the Creek, built entirely from Property Monitor & DLD transaction records.
The sales market
Across 2,151 recorded transactions, Creek Harbour is trading at a median AED 2,529/sqft, with median deal size at AED 2.75M. Resales are broadly healthy: of the transactions with a recorded purchase gain, 92% sold above their original purchase price, with a median gain of +25%.
| Bedrooms | Median price | Price range | Median AED/sqft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Bed | AED 1.90M | 0.36M – 2.65M | 2,575 |
| 2 Bed | AED 3.24M | 0.63M – 4.96M | 2,445 |
| 3 Bed | AED 4.30M | 2.80M – 6.75M | 2,340 |
| 4+ Bed | AED 9.88M | 7.00M – 12.0M | 2,625 |
Reading the spread. 1-beds and 4+ beds are commanding the tightest ppsf premiums — smaller units on strong rental demand, larger stock on scarcity. 2- and 3-beds sit a touch below the community median, the usual mid-market absorption zone.
Off-plan vs ready
Off-plan made up 63% of the 2,151 recorded sales, against 37% ready resale — the majority of recorded activity, led by Emaar's newest Creek Island releases.
37% of recorded sales
63% of recorded sales
Why the gap. Developer pricing on Creek Bay, Creek Haven and Address Residences DCH has moved ahead of comparable ready resale — a sign of confidence in future handovers, but it also means ready stock is currently the better AED/sqft entry point for buyers who don't need a payment plan.
The rental market
1,516 new leases were signed over the six-month window, while 1,182 tenancies renewed. Average new rent was AED 154,000; average renewal rent AED 133,000 — landlords are retaining tenants rather than chasing new ones at a discount.
| Bedrooms | Median annual rent | Range |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Bed | AED 100,000 | 14K – 440K |
| 2 Bed | AED 150,000 | 9K – 650K |
| 3 Bed | AED 210,000 | 43K – 730K |
| 4+ Bed | AED 447,500 | 260K – 640K |
Yield check. Median gross yield across sampled leases is 7.0% — comfortably ahead of most mature Dubai waterfront districts, and the figure this report's headline yield is built on. Note: this is a leasing-sample median — DLD-registered whole-market figures run 5.0–6.5% gross (avg. ~5.9%), the range used elsewhere on this site; the sample skews to smaller, higher-yielding units.
Towers to watch
Emaar's newest Creek Island pair is dominating recorded sales activity this half, while established towers keep the rental market liquid.
Highest sales volume, H1 2026
Highest lease volume, H1 2026
New off-plan to know. Emaar's Creek Bay and Creek Haven (from AED 1.79M–1.86M, 1–3BR, 80/20, handover 2028–29) are still open for allocation, alongside Address Residences DCH (from AED 2.2M, 90/10, handover 2029) for buyers who want branded, hotel-serviced stock.
Outlook
Creek Harbour keeps behaving like a market in a healthy mid-cycle: prices and rents are grinding higher rather than spiking, resale gains are broad-based, and off-plan absorption is strong enough that developers are pricing new releases above ready-resale comps. The falling new-lease count against steady renewals points to a tenant base settling in rather than churning — usually a precursor to firmer rents into the next cycle.
For buyers, ready stock is currently the sharper AED/sqft entry; for investors comfortable with a payment plan, the newest Creek Island towers offer the strongest yield-to-price story on the masterplan. Sources: Property Monitor, DXBinteract & DLD transaction data, Jan–Jun 2026.
Talk it through
I'll walk you through what this data means for a specific building, budget or exit timeline — no obligation.