DUBAI / MENA Newswire / — The UAE has been ranked the world’s leading real estate investment destination in a new global investor survey commissioned by Arada and conducted by Penta Group, reflecting continued international demand for property exposure in the country. The UAE Property Investment Index found that 56 percent of surveyed global investors expressed serious interest in the UAE property market, placing it ahead of the United States at 54 percent, the United Kingdom at 41 percent, France at 28 percent and Spain at 27 percent.
The index was based on responses from 689 established property investors across 12 key markets during April 2026. Arada said the research was designed to measure international buyer sentiment toward the UAE real estate sector, including levels of awareness, market appeal and the factors shaping investment decisions. The survey ranked the UAE as the top destination among the markets covered, with investor interest supported by perceptions of return potential, stability and ease of ownership.
Investor interest was particularly strong in markets with established economic and travel links to the Emirates. The survey found that 91 percent of respondents in India, 92 percent in Egypt and 85 percent in Saudi Arabia placed the UAE among their top three real estate investment destinations. Among European respondents, the UAE was listed as the top non-domestic option by investors surveyed in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Investor demand broadens
The research identified potential returns as the leading factor in real estate investment decisions, cited by 38 percent of global respondents. Safety and stability followed at 36 percent, while ease of purchase and ownership was cited by 34 percent. Penta Group’s findings also showed that familiarity with UAE real estate opportunities stood at 51 percent, broadly comparable with investor awareness of property opportunities in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The survey results come as Dubai’s property market continues to report elevated transaction activity. Dubai Land Department data showed that total real estate transactions in the emirate reached AED252 billion in the first quarter of 2026, a 31 percent increase in value compared with the same period a year earlier. The quarter included 60,303 real estate transactions, while investment value reached AED173 billion across 57,744 investment transactions.
Market data supports ranking
Foreign investment remained a major component of Dubai’s property activity in the first quarter, with overseas real estate investment valued at AED148.35 billion. The number of new investors also rose during the period, with 29,312 new market participants recorded, up 14 percent year-on-year. The data followed a record 2025, when Dubai registered more than 270,000 real estate transactions with a total value of AED917 billion.
The UAE ranking adds to broader indicators of international investor interest in the country’s economy and property sector. The 2026 Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index placed the UAE ninth globally and second among emerging markets. For real estate investors, the latest Arada and Penta Group survey places the country alongside the world’s largest established property markets while showing that cross-border demand remains concentrated in Dubai and the wider UAE market.