RAK braces for 13,800 new homes by end-2028 as prices and rents stay above last year

Ras Al Khaimah’s residential market enters H2 2026 with transactions and rents remaining higher than a year earlier, even as recent quarterly data show some easing. Apartment prices rose 6.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, while villa prices climbed almost 6%, Cavendish Maxwell reports. Apartment rents increased by more than 7% over the same period and villa rents were 8% higher. Over the most recent quarter apartment sales prices fell 0.7% and villa prices slipped 0.2%; apartment rents dropped 1.4% while villa rents increased by nearly 1%. The emirate is preparing for a major supply surge, with 13,800 new homes due between now and the end of 2028. Freehold ready residential transactions reached Dh625.2 million in the first half, up 24% from H2 2025 but 3.3% lower than the same period last year. The annual decline was driven by villas, where transaction values fell more than 7% to just under Dh298 million, while apartment sales values rose 0.7% year-on-year to nearly Dh328 million. Activity picked up in Q2, with transaction values at almost Dh354 million, nearly a third higher than Q1; apartments accounted for close to Dh156 million and villas just over Dh198 million. Around 600 new residential units were delivered during the first half, with another 1,600 expected during H2. Cavendish Maxwell forecasts 2,200 homes in 2026, 4,700 in 2027 and 7,500 in 2028. Yousir Habib, Associate Director at Cavendish Maxwell Ras Al Khaimah, highlighted supportive economic fundamentals but noted regional uncertainty is cooling near-term sentiment. Wynn Al Marjan Island, currently anticipated to open in autumn 2027, could boost demand locally.