Abu Dhabi’s residential sale prices and rents rose last year amid higher demand and a supply shortage in the emirate, according to a report.
Home sale prices increased by 11 per cent annually in 2024, while rents rose by 20 per cent, Cushman & Wakefield Core said in a report on Thursday.
Villa prices climbed by 15 per cent during the year, with Khalifa City recording the strongest growth at 30 per cent, followed by Al Reef and Yas Island at 13 per cent each. Apartment prices, meanwhile, increased by 10 per cent, with Saadiyat Island leading the growth with a 28 per cent rise. Yas Island and Reem Island recorded gains of 14 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, during the period.
“Supply struggled to keep up with demand in 2024, driving sharp price increases,” said Prathyusha Gurrapu, head of research and consultancy at Cushman & Wakefield Core. “While new supply in 2025 is expected to help, demand remains high, putting continued pressure on rents and sales prices.”
The UAE’s property market continues to perform strongly on government initiatives such as residency permits for retired people and remote workers, as well as the expansion of the 10-year golden visa programme and overall growth in the UAE’s economy amid diversification efforts.
Abu Dhabi recorded real estate deals valued at Dh96.2 billion ($26.19 billion) in 2024. The total value of deals for the year rose by more than 10 per cent on an annual basis, while the number of transactions increased by about 24 per cent to 28,249, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre said in January.
Sales transactions for the period were 16,735, with a total value of Dh58.5 billion, and mortgage transactions reached 11,514, with a total value of Dh37.7 billion.
Abu Dhabi’s residential rents also continued to rise last year, with apartment rents surging 22 per cent, while villa rents rose by 9 per cent on an annual basis in the emirate. Saadiyat Island recorded a 31 per cent increase in apartment rents, followed by Reem Island at 24 per cent and Al Raha Beach at 21 per cent.
Villa rents in Al Reef jumped by 12 per cent, while in Al Raha and Khalifa City they rose by 10 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.
In 2024, about 3,000 residential units were handed over across investment zones in Abu Dhabi, nearly 46 per cent lower than the initial forecast and 13 per cent lower than 2023 figures. Yas Island accounted for the largest share of handovers at 39 per cent, followed by Al Maryah Island and Masdar City, the report said.
About 8,500 units are expected to be delivered in 2025, with 60 per cent of supply concentrated in Yas Island, Reem Island, Saadiyat Island and Al Maryah Island.
UAE property: ‘Is the new Dubai rent index more tenant-friendly?’
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Results
2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili
3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
Results
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,000m, Winner: Hazeem Al Raed, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Faith And Fortune, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Only Smoke, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
