Dubai’s property market is facing a critical supply mismatch as the number of completed units is unable to keep pace with the rising population, according to market experts.

Dubai’s population growth is outpacing the pace of new housing delivery. The city’s population grew 4.47 per cent year-on-year, reaching 4.03 million residents as of October 2025 - an average of roughly 470 new residents a day, according to Springfield Properties.

This demographic acceleration, driven by long-term visa reforms and strong inbound employment, translates into demand for nearly 150 new homes daily, said Farooq Syed, chief executive of Springfield Properties. Yet, only about 44,000 units are expected to be delivered in 2025. Most of the new supply consists of apartments, while family-orientated villas and town houses remain limited, he added.

While developers are launching projects at an unprecedented rate, a widening gap between announced launches and actual completions, coupled with a heavy focus on apartments, is signalling the possibility of an oversupply in the high-density sector and shrinking availability of villas and town houses, real estate agency Allsopp & Allsopp said in a new report.

In 2024, developers in Dubai launched 154,145 units, yet only 34,165 were completed, meaning 22 per cent of the total launched were delivered. In 2025, 152,402 units have been launched in the year-to-date and only 31,437 units completed so far, representing around 21 per cent of total launches, the data showed.

“An increase in apartment supply isn’t inherently negative, it’s actually essential to a balanced market,” said Lewis Allsopp, chairman of