The 22nd edition of the International Property Show closed this week at Dubai World Trade Centre, and the energy on the floor left little doubt that Dubai’s real estate market is alive and thriving. Over three days, from September 7 to 9, developers, brokerages, banks, and proptech firms filled the halls across five pillars, Real Estate, Future Cities, Startups and PropTech, Design, and Services, each drawing steady crowds of engaged professionals and active buyers.
Organisers reported over 300 exhibitors and projected attendance above 30,000, building on the 2025 edition, which drew 30,719 visitors from 153 countries and produced over AED 500 million in documented transactions. Dawood Al Shezawi, President of IPS, described the show as the essential marketplace where global institutional capital meets Dubai’s most significant real estate opportunity, adding that the three days were built to deliver direct access to flagship developers and transformational portfolios.
The show also landed at a telling moment for Dubai’s tourism sector, which is moving into a recovery stage after a difficult first half of the year. Hotel rates near the World Trade Centre climbed sharply for September dates, a shift industry reports attribute to a packed exhibition calendar concentrating business travel demand along Sheikh Zayed Road. Hotel operators have pointed to stronger occupancy heading into the fourth quarter, a marked change from the quieter conditions of the summer months. That shift showed on the ground at IPS, where business travelers filled the halls alongside foreign property companies attending in search of buyers and partnerships in Dubai, and travelers who timed their visit specifically to explore the offers on display at the show.
Gergana, founder of Sterling Capital Real Estate and a veteran of Dubai’s real estate market, attended the show and confirmed that sense of momentum firsthand. The exhibition floor was packed with industry professionals across the full spectrum, developers, proptech companies, and real estate brokerages, all focused and engaged rather than simply browsing. Most of the exhibited projects fell in the affordable and mid range segment, widening the pool of buyers actively exploring deals. Foot traffic stayed heavy throughout the three days, with a visible concentration of buyers and investors from Asian markets working the floor with clear intent. Several developers backed that interest with flexible terms, including payment plans as low as zero down payment with 1.5 percent monthly installments spread across 60 months, terms that also drew attention from established professionals working in Dubai, who found the fixed monthly structure easier to plan around than a large upfront deposit.
Taken together, the scale of participation, the range of projects on offer, the pace of buyer activity, and a hotel sector filling back up around the event point to a city where business is picking up on multiple fronts at once, real estate and tourism moving in step with each other.
