Knight Frank said Downtown, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Hills were the three most popular areas for millionaires to buy property in Dubai.

"The world's wealthy have been actively targeting the most luxurious homes in Dubai, which tend to be located in the most expensive areas of the city. It is therefore not surprising to see Downtown (37 percent) and The Palm Jumeirah (30 percent) as the top target neighborhoods for our survey respondents," the global real estate consultancy said in its inaugural Dubai Destinations 2023 report.

The study surveyed 183 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in the UK, North America, Switzerland, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and India, each with a net worth in excess of $3 million, excluding their primary home or principal residence. This group owns a total of 851 homes around the world with a combined net worth of $3.2 billion.

In addition, Business Bay, Emirates Hills, Dubai Marina, Dubai Canal, Jumeirah Gold Estates, Jumeirah Bay Island and Mohammed Bin Rashid City have become among the top 10 most popular neighborhoods where millionaires buy homes to live and enjoy the security and luxury the emirate has to offer.

In June 2022, the Henry Global Citizenship Report projected that 4,000 millionaires will migrate to the UAE in 2022, the highest in the world, surpassing large countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada and other developed countries.

The Henry report shows that there are 92,600 millionaires in the UAE with wealth over $1 million, 251 multimillionaires with wealth over $100 million and 4,000 individuals with $10 million in assets.

Knight Frank's research shows that city centers dominate all individual wealth classes. However, Palm Jumeirah and Emirates Hills emerged as the top locations for residential purchases by UK/European and North American millionaires respectively.

For East Asian investors, approximately 35% of respondents who visit Dubai once a year are interested in buying a property in the city center and 30% are interested in The Palm Jumeirah.

Due to high demand and the growing popularity of The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai relaunched The Palm Jebel Ali this month, which will be twice the size of The Palm Jumeirah. The Palm Jebel Ali will have 110 kilometers of beaches.

Prices of luxury properties have risen sharply due to strong demand in the prime property market and the influx of millionaires. For condominiums, the most expensive sub-markets, namely Palm Jumeirah and Downtown, have experienced the strongest growth in the last 12 months since the first quarter of 2022, at 25% and 15% respectively. Villas in Palm Jumeirah have grown 126 percent since January 2020, the largest price increase in the city.

But prices are still cheaper than global cities, as $1 million can buy 1,130 square feet of premium space, compared to 184 square feet in Monaco, 231 square feet in Hong Kong, 353 square feet in New York, 365 square feet in London and 458 square feet in Paris.

For investors in East Asia, downtown is the overwhelming favorite at 53 percent, followed by Business Bay at 32 percent, according to Knight Frank.