The 83% pre-sold figure gets quoted as a scarcity signal. It is more accurate to read it as a pipeline description. Understanding where the remaining 17% actually is — and where the pre-sold 83% will resurface — is what matters if you are buying now.
Reading the number correctly
Gulf News reported that of the 96,585 homes forecast to hand over in Dubai across 2026, 83% were already sold before completion. The headline reading is that Dubai supply is largely spoken for. That is true but incomplete.
The 17% that has not sold is not evenly distributed. It concentrates in specific price bands and unit types — most commonly the largest apartments in mid-tier towers, and villa units where the price sits above the local community average. That is where the direct-from-developer negotiating room is right now.
But the more important observation is what happens to the pre-sold 83%. A meaningful share of pre-sold off-plan units is investor purchases financed with payment plans. When those units complete, some portion of investors face a handover balloon they intended to refinance and cannot — or they were speculative buyers who intended to sell before handover and did not. Both routes produce fresh secondary supply within weeks of the handover date.
Where negotiable stock actually sits
Three places, in our experience across the current cycle. First, the direct-from-developer inventory in the 17% — mostly larger apartments and premium villas in projects approaching handover. Second, the immediate secondary resale market of investor-owned units within one to two quarters of completion, where a proportion of owners list at handover rather than complete. Third, and quieter, the resale of one-to-three-year-old units where the original off-plan buyer is coming to the end of a post-handover payment plan.
None of those three shows up as headline supply in market reports, which quote developer inventory or gross handover figures. That is why the 83% pre-sold number reads as scarcity when it is closer to a pipeline description.
Our read
If you are buying to live in and want ready property, do not focus on the developer channel — the negotiable stock there is limited to the specific price bands mentioned above. Focus on immediate secondary of recently handed-over projects. Prices are frequently below developer list because the seller has a payment schedule to meet.
If you are buying to invest, the pre-sold figure is a demand signal you should not dismiss. 83% pre-sold across nearly 100,000 units means the underlying appetite is real. But the yield case for buying today is more nuanced than the demand case for holding; run the net yield calculation properly rather than relying on the headline.
Sources
Referenced articles. Analysis and commentary above are MRK’s own.