RAK Market Intelligence — August 2026

August was the fifth consecutive monthly price fall. The sales price index dropped 1.87%, from 315.16 to 309.26. The pace slowed from July's 3.51%, but the direction did not change. The rent index gave back July's gain, falling 0.97% from 139.04 to 137.69.

Year-on-year price growth is now 2.05%, down from 9.00% in July and 39.01% in March. The index is back to roughly where it stood in August 2025. Rents are still 7.81% higher than a year ago, so the gross yield edged up to 2.96% from 2.94%, the second small improvement in a row.

Neither the ECB nor the BoE met in August. Policy rates stood at 2.25% and 3.75% through the month. The euro and sterling both firmed slightly against the pegged dirham (EUR/AED +0.70%, GBP/AED +0.51%), a small improvement in entry pricing for European buyers.

The honest read is that the annual gain has almost gone. A buyer who bought in August 2025 is close to flat on the index after twelve months, before costs. The counterweight is narrow: the monthly decline slowed, the yield improved again, and rents held most of their year-on-year gain. Five months of decline is a trend, not a wobble. Whether August's slower fall is the start of a floor or a pause on the way down is the question September will begin to answer.