Abu Dhabi’s real estate market has recorded Dh155 billion worth of transactions in the first eight months of 2026, surpassing the Dh142 billion registered across the whole of 2025 – with four months of the year still to run, according to data released by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec).
The milestone reflects sustained, rather than seasonal, momentum.
Activity has held up consistently through the year rather than clustering around a single strong quarter, pointing to a market now operating at a structurally larger scale than in previous years, the regulator said.
The pace builds on a run of record quarters.
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Adrec data showed the capital’s property market opened 2026 with Dh66 billion in transactions in the first quarter alone, a 160.7 per cent jump from Dh25.31 billion in the same period of 2025, with deal volumes climbing from 6,896 to 13,518 transactions.
By the end of June, cumulative transaction value for the first half had reached between Dh117 billion and Dh122 billion depending on the reporting methodology, with residential unit sales alone touching Dh70.4 billion, up from Dh25.3 billion in the same period last year, and off-plan deals making up 89 per cent of that sales value.
Foreign direct investment has been a significant driver of the expansion.
FDI in the emirate’s property sector reached Dh13.8 billion in the first half, already exceeding the total recorded for all of 2025, with non-resident investors from 116 nationalities active in the market.
Resident expatriates from Canada, China, Egypt, France, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, the UK and the US ranked among the top property buyers in the first half, alongside foreign investors from China, France, Germany, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Russia, Taiwan, the UK and the US.
Prices hold firm
According to consultancy JLL, total sales transactions in Abu Dhabi maintained a positive year-on-year trajectory in the second quarter, driven predominantly by robust off-plan activity compared with a year earlier.
Sales prices in the capital showed particular resilience, recording double-digit annual increases led by apartments, up 19.4 per cent, and townhouses, up 11.2 per cent, JLL said.
The transaction boom comes as Abu Dhabi’s residential base continues to expand. Total residential supply stood at approximately 409,000 units as of mid-2026, having grown at an average annual rate of 2.9 per cent since 2022, with the Abu Dhabi Region accounting for 79 per cent of the emirate’s stock. A further 71,000 units are projected to be added across the emirate by 2030, with deliveries expected to peak at around 21,800 units in 2028.
Adrec director-general Rashed Al Omaira has previously described the run of record quarters as evidence of a market that is not only in demand, but becoming more disciplined, with a clear focus on long-term investment.
With the final quarter still ahead and September’s International Real Estate and Investment Show at Adnec expected to draw further developer and investor activity, market participants say Abu Dhabi is on track to comfortably close 2026 as its strongest year on record.
Source: Khaleej Times