Dubai market evidence

Business Bay vs Palm Jumeirah: Which Costs More?

A side-by-side comparison of Business Bay and Palm Jumeirah property prices from the historical DLD transaction record, broken down by property type.

The numbers for Business Bay and Palm Jumeirah

MetricBusiness BayPalm Jumeirah
Median AED/sqm18,103 AED/sqm18,002 AED/sqm
Median priceAED 1.6MAED 4.5M
Sampled transactions95,94431,798
P25–P75 range13,440 AED/sqm – 24,941 AED/sqm11,681 AED/sqm – 28,460 AED/sqm
Apartment share100%85%

What the price gap means

Business Bay runs 1% above Palm Jumeirah on median AED/sqm (18,103 AED/sqm in Business Bay against 18,002 AED/sqm in Palm Jumeirah). That gap is widest for Land plot, where Business Bay runs 83% above Palm Jumeirah. The headline number is driven by that unit type rather than a uniform premium across the board.

Citywide medians mix property types unevenly, so a headline gap can reflect what is being sold rather than a like-for-like premium. The per-type table above compares only the property types with enough sampled sales in both areas.

Beyond price, Business Bay is anchored by Buj Khalifa Dubai Mall Metro Station metro, Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa, while Palm Jumeirah is anchored by Al Sufouh metro, Mall of the Emirates, Burj Al Arab.

This is sales transaction evidence only and ends 2026-07-27. It covers sales, not rentals, and is market reference, not valuation or investment advice.

Price by property type

Property typeBusiness Bay txBusiness Bay AED/sqmPalm Jumeirah txPalm Jumeirah AED/sqmGap
Apartment — Studio3,73027,593 AED/sqm24232,483 AED/sqm-15%
Apartment — 1 Bed4,88824,334 AED/sqm41628,008 AED/sqm-13%
Apartment — 2 Bed2,35023,358 AED/sqm70127,064 AED/sqm-14%
Apartment — 3 Bed+69524,173 AED/sqm56240,214 AED/sqm-40%
Land plot2216,515 AED/sqm1589,042 AED/sqm+83%

Frequently asked questions