Abu Dhabi is building a 100 billion dirham ($27 billion) waterfront expansion on Saadiyat Island, the biggest single addition to the district yet. The emirate has spent two decades turning the area into a cultural hub, home to offshoots of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums. Aldar, the developer behind Yas Island’s Formula One circuit, recently unveiled a new development on the island with homes for 58,000 people, a 360-berth marina, a 6,000-seat theater, and an underground rail station. Saadiyat apartment prices have risen 21% in the past year.
Abu Dhabi is one of the few Gulf property markets that has not cooled during the war. Saudi home sales have halved, Dubai’s growth has moderated, and Ras Al Khaimah’s property boom has stalled — but the total value of property traded in the UAE capital has more than doubled in the first half of the year to 117 billion dirhams ($32 billion).