Abu Dhabi Property Transactions Jump 76% to Dh171 Billion in First Nine Months of 2026

The number of deals rose 32.8 per cent to 38,483, against 28,977 a year earlier. Sales drove most of the gain: 23,749 sales transactions worth Dh119.33 billion, more than double the Dh58.20 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2025, on a 49.2 per cent rise in volume.

The figures matter because they show foreign capital still flowing into the UAE capital's property market through a year of regional conflict, including the US-Israeli war against Iran that began on February 28. Foreign investment in the emirate's designated investment zones, where non-nationals can own property, rose 131 per cent to Dh86.11 billion and accounted for 81 per cent of total investment value in those areas, the centre said.

Foreign direct investment by non-resident individuals reached Dh17.22 billion in nine months, more than double the Dh8.2 billion recorded for the whole of 2025. Buyers came from 121 nationalities, with the UK, China, Russia, the US, France and Germany among the largest sources.

Mortgage transactions rose 13.2 per cent in number to 14,390, and 30.2 per cent in value to Dh45.92 billion. Musataha and long-lease transactions, a smaller category, totalled 268 deals worth Dh5.57 billion; their value rose 52.9 per cent even though the number of deals fell 18.7 per cent. Gift transactions rose to 76, worth Dh440 million.

Al Reem Island posted the highest transaction value of any district at Dh29.86 billion, followed by Al Hudayriyat Island at Dh28.62 billion, Al Saadiyat Island at Dh18.69 billion, Yas Island at Dh13.4 billion and Zayed City at Dh5.36 billion. ADREC expects those five districts and Khalifa City to account for 77 per cent of the emirate's new real estate supply through 2030.

Rashed Al Omaira, ADREC's director general, said the scale of investment showed how many people and businesses were making a long-term commitment to Abu Dhabi. "Buyers expect projects to be delivered, businesses need space to grow, and residents want communities that work well over time," he said in a statement, adding that the regulator's task was to make sure market rules reflected those expectations, from how property is sold to how developments are managed after handover.

The regulator registered 54 new development projects in the period and issued 3,677 licences to real estate professionals, 32 per cent more than a year earlier. It has also introduced a mandatory licensing course for brokers, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Broker Transformation Course, replacing the previous programme.

The market has had policy support during the conflict. In July, ADREC said rents for residential, commercial and industrial properties would not rise until further notice, except in communities managed by the Abu Dhabi Global Market financial centre, such as Al Maryah Island and Reem Island. The centre approved eight new investment zones in the first half of the year, according to an earlier report.

Abu Dhabi also climbed eight places to 33rd in JLL's 2026 Global Real Estate Transparency Index, from 41st in 2024, moving from the semi-transparent to the transparent category and ranking second in the Middle East and North Africa. The next test is delivery: much of the new supply ADREC expects is concentrated in the six districts named above, and the centre's own figures show 54 new projects added to the pipeline this year alone.