New Delhi, April 24 -- The UAE and other countries in the Middle East paid the highest price for the US-Iran war, despite not being involved in the conflict directly. With uncertainty still looming even after the ceasefire, Dubai's residential real estate market has posted a significant monthly decline, the first major drop since the pandemic-era boom.

According to the home price index by ValuStrat, prices fell 5.9% in March from a month earlier, with valuations seeing their first decline since 2020. REIDIN, a real estate research and analytics firm, puts the decline at nearly 20% to $10.1 billion in March 2026 from the previous month.

Since the outbreak of the war, many of Dubai's wealthiest residents have left the city, and analysts h...