Dubai’s property market experienced a remarkable increase in May, achieving unprecedented sales volumes and transaction values that indicate rising investor trust and a potential shift towards property tokenization.
As per data provided in a press release to Cointelegraph by the real estate platform Property Finder, the Dubai real estate sector attained a total sales figure of 66.8 billion dirhams (approximately $18.2 billion) through 18,700 transactions in May. These statistics demonstrate a 44% annual increase in transaction value and a 6% uplift in sales volume.
The expansion was fueled by activities in both primary and secondary markets. Primary sales exhibited a 314% surge in value compared to May 2024, while secondary sales escalated by 21% in value.
This performance emerges alongside an intensified move toward real estate tokenization, which makes the market accessible to a broader range of investors and transforms property ownership dynamics.
Dubai’s property market performance suggests readiness for tokenization
Scott Thiel, co-founder and CEO of the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform Tokinvest, informed Cointelegraph that the exceptional performance of Dubai’s property market indicates the city’s preparedness for innovations such as tokenization.
“It reaffirms what we have come to understand, Dubai is becoming one of the most vibrant and appealing real estate markets globally,” Thiel stated to Cointelegraph. “Seeing 60 billion dirhams in transactions in a single month is a compelling indicator of market liquidity, dynamism, and readiness for innovation.”
The executive noted that real estate tokenization is no longer a distant vision but an active evolution gaining momentum. Thiel emphasized that the volume creates an ideal foundation for fractionalization — dividing properties into smaller, more attainable shares — to satisfy local and international investor appetite.
Thiel added that tokenization will not merely accompany market growth but will also catalyze it. “Tokenization won’t just keep pace with the next record; we believe it will drive it,” he remarked.
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Regulators endorse tokenized assets
Dubai’s property boom in May coincided with significant regulatory and industrial advancements aimed at modernizing property transactions.
On May 1, Dubai’s MultiBank Group, real estate titan MAG, and blockchain services provider Mavryk sealed a $3 billion RWA agreement. This arrangement will integrate MAG’s luxury real estate projects into the blockchain via a regulated RWA marketplace.
On May 19, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), Dubai’s cryptocurrency regulator, revised its guidelines to encompass allowances for real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. Attorney Irina Heaver remarked to Cointelegraph that these regulations provide issuers and exchanges with a clear pathway to launch and trade tokenized real estate assets.
On May 25, the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Dubai Future Foundation initiated a tokenized real estate project in the Middle East and North Africa region. The governmental bodies introduced a platform enabling investors to purchase tokenized shares in “ready-to-own properties in Dubai.”
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