Is WhatsApp the main channel for property enquiries in Dubai?
Often, yes. Property Finder said in 2022 that the majority of real-estate leads it surveyed come through WhatsApp, and in 2024 that over 50% of its clients use WhatsApp Leads. In its test with 10 Dubai and Abu Dhabi brokerages, mobile leads rose 44%. WhatsApp is also the UAE's most-used social platform: 85.8% of internet users aged 16–64 use it monthly (2024).
Last checked: 9 Oct 2026
What Property Finder published in 2024
Property Finder's Partner Hub page (published 23 September 2024, updated 11 October 2024) says over 50% of its clients have turned to WhatsApp Leads, and that a test with 10 brokerages across Dubai and Abu Dhabi saw mobile leads up 44% and overall leads up 16%. Property Finder says this. It is Property Finder's marketing page, not a Sabbaq result. The page title says "up to 25%" while the body says 44%, and the page gives no test dates.
Property Finder's page also mentions 83% of the UAE population, and it does not name a source for that figure. This page leaves that figure out.
A 2022 Property Finder survey
A 2022 Property Finder survey, reported with the SuperAgent launch, said the majority of the real-estate leads it surveyed come through WhatsApp. The survey is from 2022, not a current count.
WhatsApp use in the UAE, 2024
Global Media Insight's "UAE Social Media Statistics 2024" (posted 9 April 2024) puts WhatsApp at 85.8% of internet users aged 16 to 64 who use each platform each month. That is not 85.8% of the UAE population. The scope is the UAE, not Dubai only, and the year is 2024. Global Media Insight does not name its underlying dataset in the text.
This page does not quote a Bayut WhatsApp share of leads. No published Bayut figure for that share was found. Bayut does treat WhatsApp as a tracked lead channel: its HelpCentre says all tracked WhatsApp messages sent to the agent are TruLeads. That is a classification, not a share.