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Abu Dhabi real estate transactions reach AED 175.7 billion in nine months

1 min read

Low-rise waterfront homes and palm trees on an Abu Dhabi island with towers on the horizon Real Estate
Low-rise waterfront homes and palm trees on an Abu Dhabi island with towers on the horizon

ADREC figures show off-plan homes took 89% of residential sales value in the first half, with foreign buyers at 70% and 71,000 more homes expected by 2030.

Real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi were worth AED 175.7 billion (US$48 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, according to Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) figures quoted by TradeArabia on 18 October ahead of the International Real Estate and Investment Show (IREIS).

Residential unit sales reached AED 70.4 billion in the first half of the year, and off-plan units made up 89% of that value. Ten developers accounted for AED 51 billion, or 90%, of off-plan primary sales, and ten projects for AED 30 billion, or 43%, of residential unit sales. In the ready market, 61% of purchases were paid in cash.

Emirati buyers committed AED 21 billion, up from AED 8.9 billion in the first half of 2025. Resident expatriates and non-resident foreign buyers together accounted for 70% of residential sales value.

Abu Dhabi has about 409,000 homes, and 71,000 more are projected by 2030, with 7,562 to 8,000 completions scheduled for 2026. There were 233,000 active residential leases, and lease values in the first half totalled AED 9.3 billion.

The concentration of sales among a few large developers and projects means buyers should weigh each developer's delivery record. IREIS 2026 returns to Abu Dhabi in November, with conference sessions on proptech and AI in real estate.

Sources