Dubai office occupancy at 94 per cent as DLD projects 1.1 million sq m by 2030

A Dubai Land Department study approved by the Executive Council on 10 November 2026 puts the city's office occupancy at 94 per cent and projects about 1.1 million square metres of new office and retail space by 2030, according to the WAM release of that date. Set beside Savills' third quarter average rent of AED 241 per square foot and CBRE's finding that office rents rose 12 per cent in a year, the study describes a market that is nearly full today and knows how much is coming.

What the Land Department study says about offices

The study was approved at the Executive Council meeting chaired by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, per the WAM release. It records occupancy of 97 per cent in residential, 98 per cent in retail and 94 per cent in offices, and projects about 365,000 new residential units and about 1.1 million square metres of office and retail space by 2030. Gulf News reported the same figures on 10 November 2026. At 94 per cent, offices are the least occupied of the three asset classes measured, and the 1.1 million square metre projection combines office with retail, so the office share is not stated.

What rents and sales are doing in Dubai offices

CBRE's third quarter 2026 review put Dubai office rents up 12 per cent year on year with occupancy of about 95 per cent, as reported by Arabian Business on 4 November 2026. The same review put Abu Dhabi office rents up 20 per cent with occupancy of 96 per cent, and Dubai industrial rents up 12 per cent. Matthew Green, Head of Research at CBRE MENA, said: "While 2026 has presented a more challenging operating environment than initially anticipated."

Savills recorded an average Dubai office rent of AED 241 per square foot in the third quarter, stable on the quarter, across about 20,200 rental transactions with 66 per cent of deals under 1,000 square feet, as reported by Arabian Business on 23 October 2026. Toby Hall, Head of Commercial Agency at Savills Middle East, said: "Dubai's office market continues to demonstrate resilience, with occupier demand remaining active."

On the sales side, Land Department data analysed by Al Masdar Al Akari shows AED 20.16 billion of office sales across 3,695 transactions in the first nine months of 2026, of which 2,363 deals worth AED 16.13 billion were off plan, about 80 per cent of the value, as reported by Arabian Business on 2 October 2026. Business Bay took 1,100 of those transactions and AED 9.9 billion, 49 per cent of the value. Our office buying guide sets out prices by district.

How much new office space is coming

Two pipeline figures now exist and they measure different things. The Land Department's 1.1 million square metres of office and retail by 2030 converts to roughly 11.8 million square feet. Savills expects about 20.4 million square feet of gross leasable office space between 2026 and 2030, with the larger additions from 2028, and says 86 per cent of 2028 supply and 78 per cent of 2029 supply will be strata buildings, per Arabian Business on 23 October 2026. The Savills figure is office only; the Land Department figure combines office with retail and does not state its basis. Neither publishes an absorption figure, so neither is a vacancy forecast. Both agree on timing: little new space arrives in 2026 or 2027, and the strata heavy years are 2028 and 2029, when a single office unit will compete with other strata floors in the same district.

Can you get a mortgage on an office in Dubai?

Yes, from the banks that publish commercial property finance, on terms that differ from a home loan. The Central Bank's Circular 31/2013 defines a mortgage loan as a loan secured on residential property, so its loan to value caps do not apply to offices, shops or warehouses; each bank sets its own limits. Emirates Islamic publishes finance of up to 70 per cent of value over up to 15 years and up to AED 25 million on completed office, retail, industrial and residential complex units in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, under an Ijara structure, per its page read on 11 November 2026. Most other banks publish no loan to value, rate or margin, and none we have found publishes terms for a non resident buying an office.

Banks size the loan on the lower of two numbers: the loan to value limit applied to the bank's own valuation, and the loan the net rent can service at the bank's minimum debt service cover. Debt service cover is net operating income divided by annual loan repayments. Purchase costs add the Land Department's 4 per cent transfer fee and 0.25 per cent mortgage registration plus AED 250 for the title deed, per its fee schedule updated 3 November 2026, and VAT at 5 per cent applies to commercial sales. Our commercial mortgage page carries the bank list and a calculator.

What it means for investors

First, 94 per cent occupancy is a landlord's number today, and the pipeline is a tenant's number for 2028. A buyer of a completed, let office in Business Bay or DIFC is buying into the first; a buyer of an off plan unit for 2028 handover is buying into the second, and should underwrite the rent at Savills' current AED 241 per square foot average or lower. Second, the 80 per cent off plan share means most office buyers are on developer payment plans rather than bank debt, because bank finance is largely for completed units; an investor who needs leverage should plan to refinance on completion at a bank's then current terms.

For a buyer in the Americas, the dirham is pegged at AED 3.6725 to the dollar, so an AED 5 million office is about USD 1.36 million with no currency risk against the dollar. Rental income is reportable at home; the IRS taxes US persons on worldwide income, so confirm the holding structure with an adviser. Our guide for US investors and our commercial desk page cover the hold structures.

What to watch

October office transaction data from the Land Department, which will show whether the off plan share held above 80 per cent. Savills' and CBRE's fourth quarter reviews. Any bank publishing commercial terms for non residents. And the handover dates of the 2028 strata towers. Castilion Estates presents the Christian A. Rockefeller Business Tower on Sheikh Zayed Road, with handover expected in 2031, and can confirm office availability on request.