Abu Dhabi Real Estate sees record Dhs1.81 billion FDI in Q1 of 2024

The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) - the custodian and regulator of Abu Dhabi’s real estate sector - announced today record levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the emirate’s growing real estate market, with 487 individual investors injecting Dhs1.81 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

These investors, from source markets including India, Russia, Canada, the UK, Jordan, and China, significantly increased their investments compared to the same period last year.

“The performance of Abu Dhabi’s real estate market in the first three months of the year underscores the sector’s increasing appeal to international investors. The robust growth on show offers encouraging signs for the remainder of 2024, and ADREC stands ready to provide seamless services and support to all stakeholders connected to Abu Dhabi’s globally competitive real estate sector,” Rashed Al Omaira, Acting Director General, Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre.

Abu Dhabi real estate transactions reached Dhs19.4 billion in Q1 across 6,070 transactions. Dhs12.8 billion was secured through sales and purchases, representing 66% of the total volume with 3,724 transactions, and Dhs6.6 billion mortgage transactions with 2,328 transactions.

The latest update from ADREC - an affiliate of the Department of Municipalities and Transport - Abu Dhabi (DMT) - illustrates strong investor confidence in Abu Dhabi real estate, and the increasing importance of the sector to the emirate’s wider vision for economic diversification.

A month earlier, Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre announced the relocation of its Real Estate Transaction Centre and Customer Service Hall to its newly opened headquarters in Al Markaziyah, Abu Dhabi. Both facilities are now open, operational and tasked with enhancing the customer service experience of all stakeholders within Abu Dhabi’s real estate ecosystem.

“Abu Dhabi has a clear strategy to elevate its real estate sector to rank among the most resilient, commercially attractive and sustainably developed in the world. 2024 will prove to be an instrumental year for Abu Dhabi, and we look forward to engaging with all stakeholders as we shape the future of Abu Dhabi real estate. Today signifies our approach to building a future-ready real estate landscape with the interests of the stakeholders at its heart,” said Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport – Abu Dhabi.

Senior officials from ADREC and the Department of Municipalities and Transport - Abu Dhabi (DMT) toured the headquarters, and confirmed that further information on how ADREC is set to transform the future of Abu Dhabi real estate will be released in due course.

“This is an important moment for ADREC and part of our ongoing strategy to serve and support all those connected with Abu Dhabi’s world-class real estate sector. Placing both the Transactions Centre and Customer Service Hall under one roof will deliver greater levels of value, efficiency and convenience for those operating within the emirate’s real estate ecosystem,” added Rashed Al Omaira, Acting Director General, ADREC.

ADREC provides an extensive range of accessible services designed to cater to the diverse needs of customers engaged in real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi. From overseeing land management and construction related processes to facilitating professional licensing, contract management, certification, consulting, loans, and workspace solutions, among others. These services are accessible both in-person and online through the TAMM platform developed in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Digital Government.

DMT officially launched the ADREC in November 2023 to accelerate growth across the real estate ecosystem in the emirate. ADREC unifies and strengthens the real estate sector in Abu Dhabi through a comprehensive regulatory framework to further enhance the efficiency of real estate and strengthen oversight, as well as increase transparency and support for residents, investors, real estate companies and professionals. ADREC’s strategy is centred around four key pillars: Real Estate Strategy, Real Estate Promotion, Real Estate Regulation, and Real Estate Transactions Management.

In April, the value of real estate transactions in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reached Dhs15.9 billion during the first quarter of 2024 (Q1 2024), recording 5,127 sales and mortgage transactions on various types of real estate units.

According to data from the DARI platform of the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) in Abu Dhabi, the emirate logged 2,919 sales and purchases transactions in Q1 2024 totalling over Dhs9.6 billion. This includes 1,167 ready-made real estate units and 1,752 off-plan units.

DARI data showed that the Emirate of Abu Dhabi recorded about 2,208 mortgage deals during Q1, with a total value of Dhs6.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the top three real estate transactions logged in Abu Dhabi during the past week, with Al Saadiyat Island and Yas Island topping the list of the largest transactions for Aldar Properties projects. The total value of transactions on Yas Island amounted to Dhs23.5 million, while the one on Al Saadiyat Island totalled Dhs14.3 million.