Dubai’s residential market is unlikely to move uniformly in the months ahead, with price softening expected across the board but with significant variation by property type and community, says an expert.

Louis Harding, CEO of betterhomes, was responding to a question on whether prices could drop significantly and what that means for sellers already coming to market, during the company’s latest Dubai property market updates webinar.

“Rest assured there is still a market,” said Harding. He noted that while some price softening is likely, the market should not be viewed as a single pricing story. Instead, performance will depend heavily on segment-level supply and local market conditions.

Referencing supply trends discussed in the webinar, Harding said around 84% of upcoming supply is apartments, around 11% townhouses and roughly 5% villas, a split he said offers “a bit of a crystal ball” into how different parts of the market may perform.

Apartments in areas with a high volume of similar stock are likely to be more exposed to price sensitivity, while villas and townhouses may prove more resilient. On villas, Harding pointed to mature communities with product that “simply isn’t being built anymore”, alongside larger square footage and stronger owner equity, as factors likely to support values. On townhouses, he said demand has remained strong, describing the segment as tied to “the Dubai equivalent of the middle class coming through.”

For sellers, Harding’s guidance was to focus less on the timing of external events and more on execution. “Choose very, very wisely who you use,” he said. “Not all brokers and brokerages are the same.”

He added that working with one trusted broker on an exclusive basis can offer sellers a clearer read on pricing, buyer sentiment and market shifts, particularly in a fast-moving environment. -TradeArabia News Service