Abu Dhabi Real Estate Advisory
Most people come to me with a property already in mind. I start one step earlier: what the money is meant to do, and which part of the Abu Dhabi market can actually do it.
Buying property: the questions before the property
Before I send a single listing I want three answers: what the property is for (rental income, a family home, residency, capital preservation), how long the money can stay in it, and what would make you sell. Those three answers rule out most of the market. A one-bedroom on Al Reem bought for rent, a launch on Hudayriyat bought for a long hold and a ready villa on Yas bought for a family are three different decisions with three different risk profiles.
Choosing where to invest
Abu Dhabi's districts are at different points in their life cycle. Established islands — Al Reem, Yas, the ready parts of Saadiyat — have rents you can see today. Newer ones such as Fahid and Hudayriyat are mostly plans and long build-outs. I compare them on the things that decide a return: real rents and vacancy, supply coming in the next few years, service charges, and rules that change the economics — for example the emirate-wide rent freeze from June 2026, from which ADGM communities on Al Reem and Al Maryah are exempt.
I publish my district-level reading on astanauae.com, for example Five Abu Dhabi islands compared and Invest or pass: ten districts.
Off-plan or resale
A launch gives you a payment plan and a new building; a resale gives you a known rent, a known service charge and a building you can walk through. I put them side by side for the same budget, including the developer's resale conditions on the off-plan unit — the share of the price you must pay before you are allowed to sell — because that decides how liquid your position is before handover.
Portfolio decisions
Clients who already own in the UAE often ask whether to add, consolidate or switch. My usual starting point is concentration: how much of the portfolio depends on one district, one developer or one handover date, and what one bad year in that segment would do to the whole.
Liquidity and exit
The question I ask on every purchase is who buys this from you, and at what price, in five years. At the top of the market and in buildings with a lot of identical stock, resale can be slow. I would rather tell you that before you buy than after.
Questions people ask me
Do you charge buyers for advice?
Can you advise on Dubai as well?
Will you tell me not to buy?
Real estate broker in Abu Dhabi, founder of Astana Real Estate · ADREC broker card 20260000946840