10.08.2026
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What is it about? Al Reem is an island district in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi. It houses residential and commercial real estate properties, and is consistently popular among expats and local residents.
What to pay attention to? Al Reem is a modern district with public transport, leisure facilities, and modern infrastructure. It's also an excellent place for real estate investment.
Al Reem is a natural island off the northeastern coast of Abu Dhabi. Two bridges connect it to the mainland. Nearby are Al Maryah Island and Saadiyat Island.
Al Reem Island's calling card is the stunning views of Marina Bay and the Arabian Gulf. At the same time, the UAE capital's centre is just 600m away. It's a priceless combination of seaside living and urban civilisation comfort.
Essentially Al Reem is a multifunctional complex where you can find any type of building, from business centres to luxury apartments, which creates additional interest for investors.
In terms of architecture Al Reem Island is a beautiful synthesis of modern buildings that combine elegance and functionality, with buildings carrying the spirit of classical Moroccan culture and elements of Spanish design. Stretches of residential houses and villas extend to the horizon line, above which rise iconic tourist buildings — the Capital Gate and Sky Tower skyscrapers or the Southern Sun hotel.
Al Reem Island is a very comfortable place for recreation and family living with children. There is a wide variety of entertainment, a friendly community, and several secondary and higher education institutions.
At the same time the island is a good place for wealthy entrepreneurs to invest in, especially in premium apartments.
Even such a seemingly insignificant aspect as Dog-Friendly Policies is another way to increase the island's attractiveness for living. A place that is friendly to pets allows their owners to enjoy life on Al Reem Island all the more. As an example, there is an indoor dog gym.
The island's popularity among housing tenants is growing steadily. People who have moved to this region choose Al Reem as a convenient location for living.
Image source: Em Kwan / unsplash.com
Who chooses Al Reem and why:
The popularity of Al Reem Island leads to population growth in this area, which adds to investors' hope for profitable real estate investment here.
When renting out real estate properties in Al Reem, it's quite possible to expect high returns. The table reflects the dynamics of average return on investment in housing indicators for the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2023.
| 1st quarter 2023 | 2nd quarter 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Studio apartment | 6.2% | 7.3% |
| One-bedroom apartment | 7.3% | 5.7% |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 5.4% | 5.2% |
| Three-bedroom apartment | 6.5% | 5.5% |
Attention! You can calculate the return on investment in rental property yourself:
ROI = Annual rental income / Property value * 100
Al Reem Island is a district with an average ROI level comparable to the rest of the emirate, which stays at 5–7% (data for the 1st half of 2023).
The return on investment indicator for studios has increased by more than 1% by the end of the 2nd quarter. This is due to a decrease in the average purchase price coupled with equal rental payments.
The actual stability of ROI indicators for two-bedroom apartments is due to the insignificant increase in the purchase price and rental amount. Experts associate the decrease in the return on investment rate for one- and three-bedroom apartments with the increase of prices over this period by almost a quarter.
The data shown in the table gives an average level of profitability, which leads to the conclusion that it's possible to recoup investments in real estate in 14–19 years.
The housing market in Al Reem offers real estate in different price segments. Thanks to this, entrepreneurs can rent out apartments focusing on the client's financial capabilities.
Let's analyze the dynamics of housing costs (as of Q2 2022 and 2023):
| 2nd quarter 2022 | 2nd quarter 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Studio apartment | 593K AED (161K USD) | 610K AED (166K USD) |
| One-bedroom apartment | 750K AED (204K USD) | 965K AED (263K USD) |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 1.33M AED (362K USD) | 1.57M AED (427K USD) |
| Three-bedroom apartment | 1.7M AED (463K USD) | 2.17M AED (590K USD) |
Note: USD — US dollar, AED — UAE dirham.
Attention! The table uses price data taken from DARI — the Abu Dhabi's verified digital ecosystem in real estate. You can learn more on the official website.
The table above shows a positive dynamics of housing cost growth during the year. Studio apartments have seen the least price increase — by 3%. The price of the following types of apartments has increased significantly: two-bedroom — by 18%, one- and three-bedroom — by 28–29%.
It turns out that housing costs in Al Reem can increase by almost a third in a year. This leads to a recommendation for investors to invest more actively in this sector of the economy so as not to miss out on profit.
Let's analyze the dynamics of rental costs during the year (as of Q2 2022 and 2023). We can see that this indicator hasn't changed. Stable prices prove the reliability of investments in the housing sector. The risk of possible decrease in rental property income is minimal:
| 2nd quarter 2022 | 2nd quarter 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Studio apartment | 45K AED (12K USD) | 45K AED (12K USD) |
| One-bedroom apartment | 55K AED (15K USD) | 55K AED (15K USD) |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 82K AED (22K USD) | 82K AED (22K USD) |
| Three-bedroom apartment | 120K AED (33K USD) | 120K AED (33K USD) |
According to legislation, a property owner in Abu Dhabi has the right to increase rent by 5% once a year. As an example, let's calculate how much income from renting out a one-bedroom apartment will increase over 5 years:
| Previous year rental | 5% rental increase | Next year rental | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year | 55K AED | 2,7K AED | 57,75K AED |
| 2nd year | 57,75K AED | 2,9K AED | 60,65K AED |
| 3rd year | 60,65K AED | 3,0K AED | 63,65K AED |
| 4th year | 63,65K AED | 3,2K AED | 66,8K AED |
| 5th year | 66,8K AED | 3,3K AED | 70,1K AED |
Thus, the property owner can legally increase rent during this time period by 27% (in money terms — 15,000 AED or 4,100 USD).
Considering that the inflation rate according to official data from the UAE National Bureau of Statistics was 2% (as of June 2023), the increase in apartment rental payments will outpace financial depreciation. And this is another argument in favour of purchasing housing on Al Reem Island as an effective investment option.
In Al Reem, you can find both studio apartments and residences with 1–5 bedrooms. There is a wide range of offers from developers with excellent reputations, such as Tamouh Investments LLC, Reportage Properties, RAK Properties and some others.
The most popular among Abu Dhabi developers — Aldar Properties, known for such projects as Yas Mall, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and the five-star hotel W Abu Dhabi, also builds residential complexes and commercial properties in Al Reem. It owns, in particular, Arc Towers, Gate Towers, Sun and Sky Towers.
Note for investors: you can purchase property in the Gate Towers complex, consisting of residential apartments, shopping and entertainment centres, offices of various companies. The starting price for a one-bedroom apartment there is 840,000 AED (229,000 USD).
If the property owner decides not to rent it out but to sell, there's also an opportunity to earn well. The cost of apartments can increase by almost a quarter in a year, or by a sixth in 1-2 quarters.
Price dynamics in Al Reem vary in different periods, but in any case, properties can always be resold with a profit for the investor. Some more statistics as an example:
| Period | Price increase | Difference in | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cost | percentage | |||
| Studio apartment | Q1 2022 — Q1 2023 | from 585,000 AED (159,000 USD) to 726,000 AED (198,000 USD) | 141 000 AED (39 000 USD) | 24% |
| Two-bedroom apartment | Q4 2022 — Q2 2023 | from 1.34M AED (365,000 USD) to 1.57M AED (427,000 USD) | 230 000 AED (62 000 USD) | 17% |
| Four-bedroom apartment | Q4 2022 — Q1 2023. | from 2.1M AED (572,000 USD) to 2.45M AED (667,000 USD) ) | 350 000 AED (95 000 USD) | 16% |
Saadiyat Public Beach is closest to Al Reem Island. Entry fee is 25 dirhams (or 7 dollars, approximately 500 rubles). Another public beach is Abu Dhabi Corniche Beach. It takes about 20 minutes to get there by car. Entry is free, and parking is designed for a large number of cars.
Al Reem Island offers guests several excellent restaurants. One of the best places is Shams Boutik Mall. You can also easily find other cafes, bars and restaurants (Smoking Doll and Popeyes, Buffalo Wings and Rings, Super Poke, The Kettle Corner, Doppio Cafe, Pizza Express and many others). Additionally, several hotels have excellent restaurants capable of satisfying the most refined taste.
As mentioned earlier, Al Reem is a pet-friendly place. Therefore, it's not difficult to find a place to walk pets. Al Reem Central Park and the canal embankment that runs there are traditionally popular places among pet owners for walking with their pets.
Al Reem guests have a wide range of opportunities. For example, Primal Gym fitness club provides services for organizing individual sessions, training in various martial arts and yoga.
For those who prioritize relaxation and beauty, Al Reem Island offers beauty salons, spa services and cosmetology centres. One of the excellent places for this is Boudoir Beauty Lounge, which can be found in Shams Boutik Mall.
Image source: Dikushin Dmitry / shutterstock.com
From Al Reem you can reach the following UAE landmarks quite simply and quickly:
There are regular buses. Routes No. 7, 44, 52, 56, 101 and 155 run from mainland Abu Dhabi to Al Reem. The nearest stops in the continental part of the city are Al Muna school (Zayed 1st Street), Sultan Bin Zayed Street and Madinat Zayed shopping centre.
Car owners will be very comfortable in Al Reem. Apartment and townhouse owners receive personal parking spaces. There is also a sufficient number of parking spaces in special public parking lots and near shopping centres.
In Al Reem, any guest can enjoy the most diverse cuisine based on personal preferences and financial capabilities. Hotel restaurants and Shams Boutik Mall, Pizza Express pizzeria and Super Poke with Hawaiian cuisine, as well as other cafes and bars will give the opportunity to try dishes from around the world.
The following residential complexes are built in Al Reem Island:
In its region, Abu Dhabi is actively becoming a centre for real estate operations. Al Reem Island is becoming a very popular place of residence. Beautiful views of the Persian Gulf waters and developed infrastructure make life there comfortable and convenient both for recreation and business activities.
Article header image source: janith devinda / unsplash.com
