The Abu Dhabi real estate market recorded 2,234 sales transactions worth more than AED 12 billion in August 2026, according to the free, downloadable August Market Report PDF.
Villas drove much of that value: 1,121 transactions generated more than AED 8.69 billion. Apartments recorded 1,041 transactions worth more than AED 3.08 billion. The figures show a market shaped by substantial villa activity, particularly at Hudayriyat Island projects.
Quick answer: Abu Dhabi recorded 2,234 sales worth more than AED 12 billion in August 2026. Villas represented approximately half of transaction volume and 72% of reported value, while apartments accounted for 47% of volume and 25% of value. Hudayriyat Golf Estates led the report’s named villa projects by transaction count.
Abu Dhabi Property Market at a Glance
| August 2026 indicator | Reported result | Year-on-year change |
|---|---|---|
| Total sales value | AED 12B+ | Not stated |
| Total transaction volume | 2,234 | Not stated |
| Apartment sales | 1,041; AED 3.08B+ | Volume −38%; value −42% |
| Villa sales | 1,121; AED 8.69B+ | Volume +133%; value +160% |
| Plot sales | 54; AED 211M+ | Volume +135%; value +240% |
| Other sales | 18; AED 157M+ | Volume −33%; value −61% |
The four property categories add up to 2,234 transactions. Their reported values are rounded and exceed AED 12.13 billion in aggregate.
The year-on-year contrast is considerable. Apartment transaction volume and value fell against August 2025, while both measures rose sharply for villas. These figures describe the number and value of properties sold. A 160% increase in total villa transaction value does not mean the price of an individual villa rose 160%.
A note on the July comparison: The August report describes transaction volume as 21% higher than in July. The previous July article, however, states that July recorded 2,062 transactions. Comparing that figure with August’s 2,234 gives an increase of approximately 8%. The month-on-month percentage needs to be reconciled against a consistent underlying dataset.
Abu Dhabi Villas Accounted for Most August Sales Value
Villas generated more than AED 8.69 billion across 1,121 transactions in August. They represented 50% of transaction volume and 72% of reported sales value.
Compared with August 2025, villa transaction volume rose 133% and value rose 160%. The stronger rise in value is consistent with a more valuable mix of sales, but the monthly breakdown cannot establish how much came from comparable price changes, larger properties, project activity or individual high-value transactions.
Hudayriyat Golf Estates Led Named Project Activity
| Project label in the report | August transactions |
|---|---|
| Hudayriyat Golf Estates Townhomes | 395 |
| Bal Ghallylam | 153 |
| Hudayriyat Golf Estates Villas | 113 |
The two Hudayriyat Golf Estates project labels accounted for 508 transactions combined. Although one is named Townhomes, the supplied report places it in its villa-project group.
A high project transaction count can reflect a concentrated period of registrations. It does not, on its own, establish future returns or the ease of reselling a particular home. Buyers should compare individual units, total prices and payment schedules, alongside the supply expected around completion.
Notable Villa Sales in August
| Project | District in the report | Registered value |
|---|---|---|
| Four Seasons Private Residences | Al Saadiyat Island | AED 350,000,000 |
| Four Seasons Private Residences | Al Saadiyat Island | AED 79,300,000 |
| SHA Residences | Ghadeer Al Tayr | AED 75,024,777 |
All three are identified as villas in the report. The AED 350 million Four Seasons Private Residences transaction is its largest listed notable sale.
These transactions illustrate activity at the upper end of the market. They should not be used as representative prices for villas across Saadiyat Island or Abu Dhabi. Valuing a specific property requires comparable sales that account for its size, specification, position and transaction terms.
Apartment Sales Reached More Than AED 3.08 Billion
Apartments recorded 1,041 transactions worth more than AED 3.08 billion. They represented 47% of August transaction volume and 25% of reported value.
Against August 2025, apartment transaction volume fell 38% and value fell 42%. The report identifies these three leading apartment projects by transaction count:
| Project | August transactions |
|---|---|
| Tara A | 72 |
| Mamsha Gardens B | 67 |
| Gardenia Bay | 52 |
Together, they accounted for 191 apartment transactions. Their rankings show where registered activity was concentrated during the month; they do not rank the projects by price growth or rental performance.
For buyers comparing apartments, recent sales of similar layouts are more useful than a market-wide average alone. Building quality, service charges, completion status and nearby competing supply can all affect the ownership decision.
What Happened to Abu Dhabi Property Prices?
The report includes a separate “Average prices” table. It gives percentage changes by property category but does not state the underlying average prices or explain the calculation method on that page.
| Property category | Versus June 2026 | Versus July 2026 | Versus August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartment | +12% | +31% | −5% |
| Townhouse | +5% | +6% | +12% |
| Villa | −31% | +9% | −6% |
On this measure, August apartment averages were 31% above July but 5% below August 2025. Villa averages were 9% above July and 6% below August 2025.
These movements should not be read as like-for-like price changes for every property. A different mix of projects, sizes or price points sold during the month can affect an average.
For broader context, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre’s first-half 2026 release reported that repeat-sales prices rose 20% year on year for apartments and 12% for villas. That is a different measure covering a different period, so it should not be treated as directly comparable with the August table.
How August Fits Into the Wider 2026 Market
The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) reported AED 70.4 billion in residential unit sales during the first half of 2026. Off-plan transactions accounted for 89% of sales value and 82% of deals over that six-month period.
Hudayriyat Island contributed AED 19 billion, or 27% of first-half residential sales value, while Saadiyat Island recorded AED 13.3 billion. These are January–June figures, not August totals. They provide context for the activity seen at named Hudayriyat projects in the August report. Source: ADREC, 18 August 2026.
ADREC also projected approximately 71,000 additional residential units across the emirate by 2030. Because future deliveries will differ by district and year, buyers assessing rental or resale potential should examine planned supply in their chosen community rather than applying the emirate-wide forecast to an individual property.
What Should Buyers and Investors Take From August’s Figures?
August’s defining feature was the scale of villa activity. Apartments still generated more than a thousand transactions, but their year-on-year volume and value moved in the opposite direction. Neither result makes one property type the better choice for every buyer.
For a villa purchase, compare the asking price with recently registered sales of homes that are genuinely similar in size, specification and location. At a new project, distinguish initial sales activity from an established resale market.
For an apartment purchase, compare units within the same building or closely comparable buildings. Include service charges, financing costs and nearby future supply in the assessment.
The August figures offer a useful picture of where capital moved during the month. The decision to buy should still rest on the individual property, its full cost and the buyer’s intended use and holding period.
Frequently Asked Questions
The supplied August market report records more than AED 12 billion in sales value across 2,234 transactions. Its property-category values are rounded, so the headline should be stated as “more than AED 12 billion” rather than as an exact total.
The report records 1,121 villa transactions worth more than AED 8.69 billion. Villas accounted for approximately half of its transaction volume and 72% of reported sales value.
There were 1,041 apartment transactions, worth more than AED 3.08 billion. The report shows apartment transaction volume 38% lower than in August 2025.
Among the projects named in the report, Hudayriyat Golf Estates Townhomes led the villa group with 395 transactions. Tara A led the apartment group with 72. These are project counts, not rankings of price performance.
No. The report’s 160% figure is the year-on-year increase in the total value of villa transactions. Its separate average-prices table shows a 9% increase versus July 2026 and a 6% decline versus August 2025 for villas, using a method that is not detailed on the page.
The August report says so, but its 2,234 August transactions compared with the 2,062 July transactions in the supplied previous article imply growth of approximately 8%. The month-on-month percentage needs reconciliation against a consistent underlying dataset before publication.
