Abu Dhabi Posts Unprecedented Real-Estate Surge in H1 2025

Abu Dhabi’s real-estate sector recorded its most powerful half-year showing to date, with transaction values climbing sharply to AED 54 billion. The newly published inaugural market report by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre signals a turning point in transparency and market discipline in the emirate.

The ADREC report shows residential unit sales reached AED 25 billion in the first six months, marking a 38 per cent increase year-on-year. Volumes expanded by about 23 per cent. Cash payments dominated, accounting for over 81 per cent of transactions. The total residential stock stood at approximately 400,000 units, while supply growth has averaged just 2.6 per cent annually since 2022—well behind demand growth of about 6 per cent over the same timeframe.

Prices in the apartment segment rose by 14 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2025, while villa and townhouse prices gained 11 per cent. In the rental market, lease values reached AED 8.2 billion, up 6 per cent over the comparable period. Apartment rents have risen by 21 per cent and villa/townhouse rents by 7 per cent over two years.

Top-tier master-planned projects drove much of the momentum. Al Hudayriyat Island led with AED 2.4 billion in sales, followed by developments such as Bal Ghaiylam, Mamsha Gardens, and Saadiyat Lagoons. Luxury apartments accounted for 57 per cent of total apartment sales value—a proportion more than twice what it was in 2023. Saadiyat Island alone captured one-third of the total sales value while contributing just 17 per cent of volume, reflecting buyers’ willingness to pay premium prices for exclusivity.

Foreign and expatriate buyers played a major role in demand. In H1 2025, they accounted for around 65 per cent of residential sales. Investors from India, the UK, Russia, and the United States featured among the top nationalities engaging with projects in Saadiyat, Yas and Reem Islands.

The new report asserts the longer-term outlook remains favourable: ADREC projects residential supply will expand by 4.6 per cent by 2028, adding between 45,000 and 55,000 units. Approximately seven major developers, including Aldar, are expected to deliver 77 per cent of this pipeline across luxury apartments, villas, and government housing schemes.

To bolster market integrity, ADREC has introduced the Madhmoun platform, a multiple listing service that centralises property data and aims to eradicate misleading or fraudulent listings. The report emphasises that data analytics underpinning this launch rely on proprietary AI-driven processes applied to cleanse and enrich datasets across the emirate.

Eng. Rashed Al Omaira, acting Director General of ADREC, characterised the report as “a new benchmark for transparency,” emphasising its role in giving investors, developers and policymakers “clarity and information” to navigate the market. He noted that regulatory enhancements, combined with high-quality masterplanned supply, will be pivotal in maintaining the emirate’s competitive position regionally and globally.