Business Bay offices
Offices for sale in Business Bay: what the 2026 numbers say.
This page is for people who want to buy a Business Bay office. It reports what named sources counted in the first half of 2026 (H1 2026), where they differ and what to check before you buy. It gives no prices, rents, growth rates or returns, and makes no forecast of its own. Each number names its source and date. This is an independent website, not the developer's.
01
What sold in H1 2026
Cavendish Maxwell, a property consultancy, counted about 2,600 office sales transactions in Dubai in the first half of 2026 (H1 2026), worth Dh15.8 billion in total. It said 65% were off-plan, meaning sold before the building was finished. Business Bay recorded the most sales of any area: 814, off-plan and ready together, ahead of Al Sufouh 1 with 498. Khaleej Times reported these figures on 6 August 2026.
A second count has a narrower scope. Al Masdar Al Aqaari analysed Dubai Land Department data on off-plan office sales only. Khaleej Times reported on 2 July 2026 that developers sold 1,668 off-plan office units in Dubai in H1 2026, and that Business Bay recorded 476 off-plan transactions.
| Figure | What it counts, and who reported it |
|---|---|
| About 2,600 | Dubai office sales transactions, H1 2026.Cavendish Maxwell, reported by Khaleej Times on 6 August 2026 |
| Dh15.8 billion | Total value of those sales, H1 2026.Cavendish Maxwell, reported by Khaleej Times on 6 August 2026 |
| 65% | Off-plan share of those transactions, H1 2026.Cavendish Maxwell, reported by Khaleej Times on 6 August 2026 |
| 814 | Business Bay sales, off-plan and ready, H1 2026.Cavendish Maxwell, reported by Khaleej Times on 6 August 2026 |
| 1,668 | Dubai off-plan office units sold, H1 2026.Al Masdar Al Aqaari, from Dubai Land Department data, reported by Khaleej Times on 2 July 2026 |
| 476 | Business Bay off-plan sales only, H1 2026.Al Masdar Al Aqaari, from Dubai Land Department data, reported by Khaleej Times on 2 July 2026 |
| About 94% | Dubai office occupancy, second quarter of 2026.CBRE, reported by Arab News on 28 July 2026 |
| 6.1% | Dubai office vacancy, second quarter of 2026.JLL, reported by Khaleej Times on 30 August 2026 |
Cavendish Maxwell also reported on supply (Khaleej Times, 6 August 2026). It said about 92,300 square metres of new office space reached Dubai in H1 2026. That took Dubai's total office space to 9.46 million square metres. It said a further 150,000 square metres was due by the end of 2026.
02
Why buyers look at a Business Bay office
People give many reasons for choosing Business Bay. Two are general facts that official or named sources describe.
- Metro. The Roads and Transport Authority's list of Dubai Metro stations includes Business Bay on the Red Line (checked on 26 October 2026).
- Mixed use. Dubai Holding's website describes Business Bay, on the Dubai Water Canal, as combining corporate towers, residential complexes, commercial space and hotels (checked on 26 October 2026).
A busy market does not tell you whether a single office suits you.
03
What the numbers do not tell you
- No unit-level detail. An area count does not say which buildings sold, which floors, what sizes or on what terms.
- Off-plan and ready differ. An area's total can mix both, so ask which kind a figure covers.
- Publishers count differently. Cavendish Maxwell's 814 for Business Bay (Khaleej Times, 6 August 2026) covers off-plan and ready sales. Al Masdar Al Aqaari's 476 (Khaleej Times, 2 July 2026) covers off-plan sales only. They measure different things, so do not add or compare them.
- Periods differ. Cavendish Maxwell reported H1 2026. CBRE and JLL reported the second quarter of 2026.
- Citywide is not Business Bay. The occupancy and vacancy figures cover all of Dubai. The reports we read give none for Business Bay offices.
- Plans and momentum can change. Cavendish Maxwell said construction delays typically defer planned completions. It also said sales momentum eased in the second quarter, with fewer transactions than in the first quarter, mainly in ready offices, and that the market entered the second half in a more uncertain environment. It said third-quarter data would give a clearer indication of whether this was temporary or the start of a broader adjustment (Khaleej Times, 6 August 2026).
We make no forecast of our own.
04
Before you buy Business Bay office space
Put these questions to the seller or the developer, and ask for the answers in writing.
- Freehold status. The UAE Government portal says that in Dubai, foreign ownership is permitted in areas designated as freehold (updated on 28 September 2026). Confirm a building's status with the Dubai Land Department.
- The title deed or the Oqood status. For a ready office, ask for the title deed. The UAE Government portal says title deeds are issued by the emirate's land department (updated on 28 September 2026). For an off-plan office, ask whether the developer has registered your purchase through Oqood. The Dubai Land Department's page on registering off-plan sales refers to its Oqood portal (checked on 26 October 2026). The same page lists a provisional registration e-certificate as the document issued, so ask for a copy.
- The service charge. Ask what it is now, what it covers and how it can change.
- The Sales and Purchase Agreement. Ask for the draft early and check that it matches what you were told.
- The escrow details, for off-plan. The Dubai Land Department describes a project's escrow account as a bank account into which amounts collected from buyers of off-plan units are deposited (Frequently Asked Questions page, checked on 26 October 2026). Ask which bank holds it.
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit.
05
One example: Berkeley Tower
Berkeley Tower is one office tower in Business Bay. The developer's project brief, read on 26 October 2026, says on page 18 that it is ground floor plus 60 floors. Page 20 gives 109 offices and 579,681 sq ft of sellable area, and the brochure's page 4 gives the same height, unit count and area.
The brief's master plan on page 26 marks Business Bay Metro Station at the Sheikh Zayed Road edge of the plan. Only the final Sales and Purchase Agreement has legal effect (brief page 71, brochure page 29). Neither document gives a completion or handover date, and this site does not give one. See the Berkeley Tower home page.
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