Savills sees Marina, Business Bay and JVC rents down 10-13% in Q3 2026

Savills Middle East's third-quarter review of Dubai's residential market recorded year-on-year apartment rent declines of 12.8% in Dubai Marina, 12.2% in Business Bay and 10.4% in Jumeirah Village Circle for July to September 2026. These are among the largest annual moves in the communities Savills tracks.

Activity, by contrast, picked up. Total rental transactions rose 16% from the second quarter to roughly 181,900, broadly level with the 180,600 recorded a year earlier. Savills' research director Rachael Kennerley described the market as being in a phase of rebalancing rather than a reversal. On the sales side, the firm counted about 34,500 residential transactions in the quarter.

The two numbers belong together. Leasing volumes close to last year's level show that the resident base is still growing and still needs homes. What has changed is the balance of supply. Business Bay and JVC have received some of the largest volumes of newly completed apartments, and the Marina competes with both on location and lifestyle. More choice at the point of letting naturally narrows the premium a landlord can command.

This also explains why the softening is uneven. Communities with limited new stock or a villa-led mix have held up better, while high-density apartment districts carry the adjustment. For anyone reading a citywide average, the useful question is how much new supply is landing within a short drive of a given building.

For tenants, Marina, Business Bay and JVC now offer the most room to negotiate in the apartment market, particularly in towers that have recently handed over and still have multiple units listed. Comparing several buildings before committing is likely to pay off.

For landlords and investors, gross yields are being recalibrated rather than eroded. Purchase prices in these districts have moved less than rents, so yield assumptions built on 2024 rents need updating. Well-specified units with views, parking and good management continue to let with little vacancy; generic stock is where the pressure sits. Buyers considering these communities as investments should model rents at today's levels and treat any recovery as upside rather than the base case.