Hudayriyat Island: the one district where the average price means something

What does property on Hudayriyat Island cost? The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre records apartments at an average of AED 24,000 per square metre and a maximum of AED 33,000. Villas average AED 15,000 and reach AED 36,000. Those are recorded transactions in the first half of 2026, not asking prices.

Why that narrow range is the story

ADREC states in its own report that maximum prices across most districts run two to four times the mean. Hudayriyat does not behave that way.

On Yas Island the most expensive recorded apartment cost more than four times the district average. A budget built on that average would miss by a factor of four. On Hudayriyat the gap is 38 per cent, which is close to the difference between a lower floor and a higher one in the same building.

That has a practical consequence. In a district with a wide spread, the average tells you almost nothing about the specific apartment you are being shown, and the only useful question is where in the range it sits. Here, the average is a reasonable starting point, and a quoted price far outside it deserves an explanation.

We are not saying Hudayriyat is cheap. At AED 24,000 per square metre it sits fifth of the twelve districts with published apartment figures, just under Yas Island at AED 25,000 and just over Al Raha at AED 21,000. We are saying it is predictable, and predictability is worth something when you are buying from a floor plan.

What the government source confirms, and what it does not

Modon Properties is the master developer. The Abu Dhabi Media Office puts the masterplan at 51 million square metres, equivalent to 53.8 per cent of Abu Dhabi Island, and names Wadeem as the first residential community with more than 1,700 plots.

Two corrections to what circulates elsewhere:

The size. Several property blogs describe Hudayriyat as “over 3,000 hectares”. The official figure is 51 million square metres, which is 5,100 hectares. The commonly quoted number understates it by roughly forty per cent.

The freehold designation. Broker sites widely cite “Executive Council Decision No. 31 of 2024” as the instrument that made Hudayriyat an investment zone. We could not find that decision in the Abu Dhabi Media Office, ADREC or WAM archives. What is documented is that Modon sells residential product here on a freehold basis open to all nationalities. The practical answer is therefore yes, a foreign buyer can own here; the specific legal citation is one to ask your conveyancer to produce rather than to take from a listing page, and we would rather say that than repeat a decision number we cannot open.

What we deliberately do not print

A figure circulating on several brokerage blogs puts Hudayriyat transactions at AED 11.97 billion in the first quarter of 2026, ahead of Saadiyat and Al Reem. It may well be right. It does not appear in the ADREC half-year report, which is the only Abu Dhabi source we treat as primary, so it is not on this page as a fact.

Our prices guide sets out which figures we use and why.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners buy on Hudayriyat Island?

Yes. Residential product here is sold freehold and open to all nationalities. Confirm the freehold status of the specific plot or unit in the title documents rather than in the marketing, which is good practice in every Abu Dhabi investment zone.

Is Hudayriyat a good investment?

The register says it is priced in the middle of the field and trades in a narrow band. Whether that suits you depends on what you want the property to do. We publish no forecasts, so if you are looking for a projected return you will not find one here.

How far is it from the city?

Hudayriyat sits off the western coast of Abu Dhabi and is connected to the mainland by the Hudayriyat Bridge. It is the closest freehold waterfront to the central business district.

Who is the developer?

Modon Properties, part of Modon Holding, is the master developer of the island under the masterplan announced through the Abu Dhabi Media Office.