Bayut-dubizzle Q3 Aud Market Report: Capital City Shows Signs Of Stability As Sales Prices Remain Largely Unchanged, While Tenants Benefit From Greater Affordability In Rentals

With mobility restrictions eased within the emirate, Abu Dhabi’s property market has shown signs of stability and even recovery over the last three months. According to Bayut and dubizzle’s latest combined market report for Q3 2020, prices for sale and rent have remained largely stable in Abu Dhabi’s popular residential neighbourhoods, with modest declines of under 5% in most of the prominent areas. When it comes to the ready properties for sale, there have even been promising signs of recovery with both the prominent villa and apartment communities reporting marginal increases for the price per square foot. 

In Q3 2020, prospective buyers have remained keen on Abu Dhabi’s freehold districts such as Al Reem Island, Yas Island and Al Raha Beach, which offer upscale properties and convenient access to various lifestyle amenities and recreational facilities. Many of the projects in these popular areas by master-developer Aldar have also been offering attractive incentives including the waiver of registration fees and the option to make payments using a credit card. These measures have created more opportunities for prospective homeowners and reduced the financial outlay to a certain extent. This in turn, has enhanced the opportunity for landlords and developers to negotiate more favourable prices, thereby resulting in a marginal increase in average sales price per square foot. 

Potential tenants on the other hand, have shown greater inclination towards established, centrally located districts and suburban areas such as Mohammed Bin Zayed City, Al Khalidiyah and Al Muroor.

Properties For Sale In Abu Dhabi

Villas: 

Based on the combined data released by Bayut and dubizzle, the affordable suburb of Al Reef has remained the top choice for buyers and investors interested in ready villas for sale in Abu Dhabi in Q3 2020. 

The average sales price-per-square-foot for villas in Al Reef has experienced an uptick of 2.2% in Q3 2020, increasing from AED 587 to AED 599.

Saadiyat Island has ranked second for villa sales in Abu Dhabi, with its average price-per-square-foot holding steady at AED 1,308. On the other hand, the villas in Yas Island have seen the price-per-square-foot increase by 4.3% in Q3 2020, from AED 916 to AED 956. The inventory of ready properties in these island communities have also recently increased thanks to the phased handover of high-profile projects such as Yas Acres and Jawaher Saadiyat. 

Other suburban communities such as Mohammed Bin Zayed City and Shakhbout City have also continued to draw consumer interest for villa sales in the capital for Q3 2020. 

Apartments: 

For apartment sales in Abu Dhabi, investors and buyers have continued to favour waterfront communities such as Al Reem Island in Q3 2020, followed by Al Raha Beach and Yas Island. 

The average sale price-per-square-foot for apartments in Al Reem Island and Raha Beach has remained steady in Q3 2020, averaging at AED 967 and AED 1,160 respectively. 

The apartments in Yas Island have become more affordable in Q3 2020, with price-per-square-foot seeing a minor decrease of 2.1%, averaging at AED 1,198.

Masdar City, Saadiyat Island, Al Reef and Al Maryah Island have also continued to draw attention for sale of apartments in Q3 2020, experiencing minor declines of under 2%. On the other hand, Al Ghadeer has seen price-per-square-foot for apartments increase marginally by 1.4%, standing at AED 716 in Q3 2020.

Al Reef has emerged as the neighbourhood with the highest ROI for apartments in Abu Dhabi based on projected rental yield of 8.5%. For villas in Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, has been offering healthy rental yields up to 8.8%.  

Based on the combined data from Bayut and dubizzle, Yas Island and Al Jurf have been the most sought-after areas by investors keen on off-plan properties in Abu Dhabi. Water’s Edge has been the preferred choice for potential homeowners in Yas Island, offering family-friendly apartments, villas and townhouses. Investors keen on off-plan villas in Al Jurf have shown the most interest in the luxury houses of Al Jurf Gardens.

Properties For Rent In Abu Dhabi

Villas:

As per the combined data from Bayut and dubizzle, Mohammed Bin Zayed City (MBZ) has remained a firm favourite with prospective tenants for villa rentals in Abu Dhabi. The asking rents for 3 and 4-bedroom villas in MBZ City have remained stable, averaging at AED 90k and AED 120k, respectively. However, the average rent for 5-bedroom villas in MBZ City has  increased by 7.1% to AED 150k, indicating a healthy demand for larger units.

Contrastingly, Khalifa City A has seen rental costs for 3-bedroom homes increase by 8% from AED 120k to AED 130k in Q3 2020, while the average rents for 4 and 5-bedroom villas has remained unchanged.  

Other prominent areas for villa rentals in Abu Dhabi such as Al Muroor, Al Reef, Al Bateen, Al Karamah, Shakhbout City and Yas Island have seen rental costs remain largely stable.

Apartments:

In the third quarter of 2020, Al Reem Island has continued to dominate the attention of prospective tenants for apartment rentals in Abu Dhabi. The annual rents for studios and 2-bedroom apartments in Al Reem Island have witnessed minor declines of under 2.5%, averaging at AED 44k and AED 83k respectively. However, the average rent for 1-bedroom apartments in Al Reem Island has remained constant at AED 60k in Q3 2020. 

The average asking rents for apartments in other popular areas such as Al Khalidiyah and Al Muroor have also remained competitive in Q3 2020. 

Other notable areas for apartment rentals in Abu Dhabi include Tourist Club Area, Khalifa City A, Mussafah and Al Raha Beach, which have seen moderate decreases in average rents between 1.5% and 7.5% overall. On the other hand, centrally-located areas such as Corniche Area and Hamdan Street have seen asking rents remain largely unchanged. 

Commenting on the trends, Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut and dubizzle, said:

“Over the last three months, the Abu Dhabi real estate market has shown promising signs of recovery. The overall market conditions have also become more stable in the last three months, and businesses across the board are returning to normal operations. The footfall in malls, restaurants and recreational facilities have increased in the last few months. This has definitely had a direct impact on interest in the capital city’s real estate market. In fact Aldar recently revealed that they have achieved around $270 billion in off-plan sales alone. These are certainly impressive figures, and they also echo the trends we have observed on Bayut and dubizzle. In the last three months alone, we received a combined total of approximately 4.5 million sessions for listings in the capital alone, showing that there is a healthy demand for real estate in Abu Dhabi.”