Emaar sales backlog nears AED180bn, collections at 98%

The Emaar sales backlog stands near AED180 billion (USD 49 billion), Emaar Properties founder and Managing Director Mohamed Alabbar said on Thursday, 15 October 2026, with collections holding at 98 per cent.

Speaking at the ninth Sharjah Investment Forum, Alabbar said customers kept paying instalments through this year’s regional tensions and that cancellations have fallen back to normal levels. The remarks give investors a rare mid-quarter reading on the Dubai developer’s order book ahead of its third-quarter results.

Emaar sales backlog grows from June level

The AED180 billion figure compares with a revenue backlog of AED164.9 billion (USD 44.9 billion) that Emaar reported at 30 June 2026, which was itself up 13 per cent on a year earlier. The backlog represents signed property sales and off-plan contracts that have not yet been handed over or recognised as revenue.

Emaar typically sells around 4,000 residential units a month and sees roughly 600 cancellations, Alabbar said. During the period of regional conflict, cancellations roughly doubled to about 1,200 before dropping back below 600.

“We are still collecting exactly like before. That shows you customer confidence,” he said, according to a report by state news agency WAM. He added that the collection rate had dipped only briefly and matched last year’s level.

Strong first half sets the base

The update follows a strong first half for the DFM-listed company. Emaar reported group property sales of AED26.6 billion (USD 7.2 billion) for the six months to June, revenue up 21 per cent to AED23.9 billion (USD 6.5 billion) and net profit before tax up 23 per cent to AED12.8 billion (USD 3.5 billion).

Its UAE build-to-sell arm, Emaar Development, contributed AED22.4 billion of those sales, while international projects added AED4.2 billion. Recurring revenue from malls, retail and commercial leasing rose 9 per cent to AED3.5 billion, and hospitality, leisure and entertainment generated AED1.6 billion.

Alabbar told the forum that the company’s hospitality business was still growing. He also pointed to spending on noon, the e-commerce platform he founded, as evidence that consumers had not pulled back.

Why the Emaar sales backlog matters for investors

An Emaar sales backlog of this size gives the company several years of revenue visibility and underpins the dividend capacity that has made it a core holding for regional and emerging-market funds. For the wider Dubai market, the 98 per cent collection rate is a signal that off-plan buyers, many of them overseas investors, have kept honouring payment plans despite the conflict and higher global interest rates.

Analysts have watched cancellation and collection data closely this year as a gauge of how exposed Dubai’s off-plan model is to external shocks. Alabbar’s figures suggest the disruption was short-lived, although the company has not yet published audited third-quarter numbers.

The comments also feed a broader argument Alabbar made on stage: that investors and families increasingly prioritise safety, education and stability over tax incentives when choosing where to live and invest. “Forget about tax. People are moving to countries where life and education are safe,” he said.

Sharjah itself used the forum to promote its own property market, and developers from Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been expanding into the emirate, a trend Outlook Middle East has tracked in its coverage of luxury real estate developments in Dubai and the wider UAE.

Looking ahead, Emaar is expected to publish its third-quarter and nine-month results in late October or early November, when the market will look for confirmation of the backlog figure, updated sales numbers and any guidance on launches for the rest of the year.

The Sharjah Investment Forum closed on Friday after drawing more than 10,000 participants from over 60 countries, organisers said. Emaar’s detailed first-half figures are set out in the company’s H1 2026 results statement.

For more regional business coverage, visit the Outlook Middle East news section.

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Note: The AED180bn “sales backlog” is Alabbar’s verbal figure at a forum, not an audited disclosure; the June figure (AED164.9bn) is labelled “revenue backlog” in Emaar’s H1 release, so the two may not be defined identically. Sources conflict on hospitality: WAM/Gulf Today report activity “more than 60 per cent above previous levels”, while Zawya’s second report says hotel occupancy was “about 60 per cent” — the article uses the safer “still growing”. Quotes come from WAM/Zawya and Gulf Today transcriptions of the session. Q3 results timing is an expectation based on Emaar’s usual calendar, not a company announcement.

Sources (fact-check):

• https://www.zawya.com/en/business/uae-realty-market/emaars-sales-backlog-stands-at-around-49bln-collection-rate-at-98-1694608
• https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/alabbar-puts-emaars-sales-backlog-at-49bln-collections-at-98-1694872
• https://www.gulftoday.ae/business/2026/10/16/emaars-mohamed-alabbar-tells-sharjah-investment-forum-we-live-in-an-incredible-country-with-great-leadership-the-future-looks-much-better
• https://sharjah24.ae/en/Articles/2026/10/16/a2
• https://www.emaar.com/en/press-release-listing/emaars-net-profit-before-tax-increased-by-23-to-aed-12-8-billion-us-3-5-billion-revenue-backlog-reaches-aed-164-9-billion-us-44-9-billion-in-h1-2026