Dubai’s thriving commercial real estate sector is poised for a significant transformation. By 2028, the city is expected to witness the emergence of a two-tier office market. This shift will put pressure on older buildings as new Grade A properties command premium pricing, says fäm Properties.
Despite substantial growth in commercial real estate this year, with sales value increasing by 77.9% and transaction volume rising by 35.1% over the first 11 months, the sector has lagged behind the residential market in adopting luxury design and construction quality for over a decade.
“Since 2008, Dubai has not seen a real new generation of office buildings,” said Firas Al Msaddi, CEO of fäm Properties. “In contrast, the residential market went through a major transformation new design language, new architecture, new luxury standards, and new construction codes.”
“The commercial sector did not have a reset, but that’s now on the way. The first wave of next-generation Grade A offices will only start handing over from 2028 onward. That will be the moment of truth, as we see how secondary offices perform when tenants finally have modern, efficient, architecturally relevant options.”
“The gap between old and new will widen, and the entire commercial sector will reprice itself around quality, creating a two-tier office market, with older buildings facing pressure as new Grade A properties command premium pricing.”
Al Msaddi points to Vision Tower in Business Bay as one of the clearest indicators of demand for real Grade A office space in Dubai. “It has consistently outperformed the market because it attracts real, established corporates,” he said. “The smallest unit is a half-floor, which naturally filters for serious companies, and the performance of that building tells you exactly how strong true Grade A demand really is.”
The Dubai real estate market has already had a record-breaking year in the residential sector, with 197,263 transactions surpassing the previous full year results with a month to spare in 2025.
Meanwhile, data from DXBinteract shows there has also been impressive growth in the commercial market over the first 11 months of the year. Total commercial real estate sales value reached US $4.22bn, a 77.91% leap from $2.37bn last year, while overall transaction volume rose by 35.1% from 3,970 deals last year to 5,364.
