Dubai Mortgage Refinancing Enquiries Rise 2.5 Times as Property Purchase Volumes Ease

Dubai’s mortgage market is seeing stronger refinancing and equity-release activity even as mortgage-backed property purchase volumes moderate from their 2025 highs. Enquiries in these categories grew 2.5 times year on year, contrasting with a softer volume of mortgage-backed property transactions.

Executive Summary

The latest figures point to a shift in the composition of Dubai’s mortgage demand rather than a broad withdrawal of borrowing activity. Refinancing, equity release and mortgage approvals are gaining ground, while purchase-related transaction volumes are lower. The pattern is relevant to lenders, homeowners, investors and developers tracking liquidity across the property market.

Confirmed Development Facts

• Mortgage refinancing and equity-release enquiries reported by Mortgage Finder grew 2.5 times year on year.
• Overall mortgage enquiries declined by approximately 1.9% year on year, while mortgage approvals increased by approximately 33%.
• Dubai recorded 8,822 mortgage-backed transactions worth AED 42.58B in the second quarter of 2026. In the second quarter of 2025, the market recorded 13,604 transactions worth AED 42.2B.
• The comparison represents an approximately 35% decline in transaction volume between the two quarters, while the reported value of transactions was broadly similar across the periods.
• Mortgage loan sizes in the first half of 2026 increased by approximately 17% year on year, largely reflecting higher property values.

Market Significance

AlSafaqa’s reading is that Dubai’s financing market may be entering a more selective, mature phase. The sharp increase in refinancing and equity-release enquiries suggests that existing owners are becoming a more important part of lender activity alongside new purchasers. This does not establish a single motive for borrowers, but it indicates that mortgage demand is not moving uniformly across categories.

The transaction comparison is also significant. A lower number of mortgage-backed transactions alongside broadly similar reported value points to a market mix with larger average financing amounts. AlSafaqa calculates that reported value per transaction was materially higher in the second quarter of 2026 than in the second quarter of 2025; this is a derived comparison, not a separately reported market statistic. The increase in loan sizes is consistent with a market in which higher-value properties represent a greater share of financed activity.

Investor Perspective

For those assessing Dubai real estate exposure, the figures reinforce the need to distinguish purchase activity from broader mortgage liquidity. Refinancing and equity release can support owner-level liquidity even when fewer financed purchases are recorded, while higher approvals indicate that qualified borrowers remain active within the system.

The data also warrants closer attention to property-value bands, leverage and lender appetite rather than transaction counts alone. A continued shift toward refinancing could support financial intermediaries and established owners, while developers may need to monitor how financing conditions affect the absorption of new inventory. Rate expectations and equity extraction are plausible areas for further investigation, but the available figures do not establish either as the reason for the observed change.