Al Hudayriyat
Island
Abu Dhabi's biggest market by value, and every home is still off-plan.
Al Hudayriyat is the island off the south-west of Abu Dhabi city that Modon has turned from a sports and leisure district into a villa master plan. The leisure side opened first, in November 2020: beaches, cycling and running tracks and the Marsana waterfront. Surf Abu Dhabi, a Kelly Slater wave pool, opened to the public in October 2024 and hosted a World Surf League Championship Tour event in February 2025.
Then came the homes, and buyers moved fast. ADREC counted AED 19.0bn of residential sales here in the first half of 2026, 27% of the whole emirate and about eight times the AED 2.4bn of a year earlier. ADX shows 3,435 sales worth AED 28.65bn from 1 January to 2 October 2026, every one of them off-plan, at an average ticket of AED 8.34M. Cavendish Maxwell counted 1,574 villa and townhouse deals in H1, 38.7% of all villa deals in the city.
Modon builds almost everything here: Bashayer apartments and villas, Nawayef, Al Naseem, Wadeem villa plots and, since July 2026, Hudayriyat Golf Estates, where about 1,700 homes sold for more than AED 13bn within days of launch. ADREC's first-half averages were about AED 1,400 per sq ft for villas and townhouses and about AED 2,250 for apartments.
Hudayriyat became the largest market in Abu Dhabi by value in 2026. ADREC counted AED 19.0bn of residential sales in H1, 27% of the emirate, and ADX shows AED 28.65bn across 3,435 sales from 1 January to 2 October, all off-plan, against AED 12.34bn in all of 2025. Modon's Hudayriyat Golf Estates sold about 1,700 homes for more than AED 13bn within days of its July launch. The averages have not run away: Cushman & Wakefield's Q2 villa average was AED 1,587 per sq ft, 1% above a year earlier and 8% below Q1.
Data as of October 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this guide.
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Illustrative imageRight for you.
Not right for everyone.
Al Hudayriyat Island is a strong recommendation for the right profile. It's also wrong for investors whose objective doesn't match what the zone delivers. Here is our honest read.
- You want a family villa or townhouse by the sea: ADX medians were AED 4.23M for three bedrooms, AED 7.37M for four and AED 10.13M for five (2026, homes of all types)
- You can hold off-plan for several years: no home here is finished yet
- You want an active life on the doorstep: beaches, cycle tracks and a surf park are already open
- You would rather build your own villa: Wadeem villa plots sold at a median AED 3.35M in 2026
- You want a Golden Visa and can pay at least AED 2M to the developer before handover
- You need rental income soon: there is no completed rental stock and no measured yield
- Your budget is below about AED 2.3M: no studios traded, and the median one-bedroom sold for AED 2.34M
- You want to resell quickly: there is no ready resale market yet, and many villas will hand over in the same few years
- You are not prepared to check the title: Al Hudayriyat is not on the official public list of freehold investment areas
What Modon is selling
on Al Hudayriyat.
Prices are ADX medians per project from 1 January to 2 October 2026, all bedroom types. Modon did not publish launch prices for its 2026 phases.
What is being built,
and when.
- Hudayriyat leisure district, including the Marsana waterfrontSource10 Nov 2020Open
- Surf Abu Dhabi (Kelly Slater Wave Co, Modon)SourceOpened Oct 2024; hosted a World Surf League Championship Tour event Feb 2025Open
- Two new Hudayriyat bridges, design-and-build tenderSourceBids due 9 Feb 2026; award not confirmedAnnounced
- Etihad Rail passenger service Abu Dhabi to Dubai (mainland stations at Abu Dhabi and Mohamed bin Zayed City; none on the islands)Source30 Sep 2026Open
What we actually think about Al Hudayriyat Island.
Buyers chose Hudayriyat for the life it already offers. The beaches and cycle tracks have been open since 2020 and the surf park since 2024, it sits close to the city, and Modon is building a low-rise villa island around them. That is why it took 38.7% of all villa deals in the city in the first half of 2026. Per square foot it is also cheaper than Saadiyat: ADREC's villa average was about AED 1,400 here against about AED 2,150 there.
Be clear about what you are buying. Every sale so far is off-plan, so there is no resale history and no rent figure to judge a yield on. The island is not on the official public list of freehold investment areas: homes are sold to all nationalities by the developer, and you should confirm the title type, freehold or long lease, with Modon and ADREC before you buy. Two new bridges are out to tender, with no contract award confirmed.
The risk is timing. Modon has sold thousands of villas within months, and ADREC lists 2,611 villas due by 2030, so many owners will look for tenants or buyers in the same years. Cushman & Wakefield's villa average already slipped 8% between Q1 and Q2. We like Hudayriyat for families who will live in the home and can hold well past handover. Investors who need income or a short exit should wait for the first phases to complete.
Can foreigners buy on Al Hudayriyat Island?
Homes on Al Hudayriyat are sold to all nationalities by the developer, Modon, and ADREC's data show heavy foreign buying. The island is not on the official public list of Abu Dhabi investment areas, so confirm the title type (freehold or long lease) with the developer and ADREC before buying, and check the unit's status on DARI.
How much does a villa on Al Hudayriyat cost?
ADX medians from 1 January to 2 October 2026 were AED 4.23M for a three-bedroom home, AED 7.37M for a four-bedroom, AED 10.13M for a five-bedroom and AED 20.46M for six bedrooms or more, all off-plan. Golf Estates townhouses sold at a median AED 4.93M and its villas at AED 10.40M.
What rental yield can I expect?
None can be measured yet. No homes on the island are finished, so there are no registered rent contracts. Plan any rental income from handover onward, and remember that Abu Dhabi has capped rent increases on renewal at 0% since 2 June 2026.
Does an off-plan villa here qualify for the Golden Visa?
Abu Dhabi grants the Golden Visa for property worth AED 2M or more. If it is mortgaged, AED 2M of equity must be held; for off-plan, at least AED 2M must already be paid. Confirm with ADREC before you rely on it. Most homes here pass the value test; on an off-plan villa the visa waits until your payments to Modon reach AED 2M.
What is already open on the island?
The leisure district opened in November 2020 with beaches, cycling and running tracks and the Marsana waterfront. Surf Abu Dhabi opened to the public in October 2024 and hosted a World Surf League Championship Tour event in February 2025. The homes Modon is selling are still under construction.
Data as of October 2026
- ADX Interact area analysis: Al Hidayriyyat (sales, bedroom medians, top projects), 1 Jan to 2 Oct 2026
- ADREC Abu Dhabi Real Estate Market Report H1 2026 (sales value and share, averages, pipeline, rent cap), H1 2026
- Cavendish Maxwell Abu Dhabi Residential Market Performance H1 2026 (villa deal share), H1 2026
- Cushman & Wakefield MarketBeat Residential Abu Dhabi Q2 2026 (villa average), Q2 2026
- Modon: Hudayriyat Golf Estates passes AED 13bn in sales within days of launch, 7 Jul 2026
- Modon: final phase of Bashayer sells out within one day, 17 Jul 2026
- Gulf News: Hudayriyat leisure district opens to the public, Nov 2020
- Modon: Surf Abu Dhabi to open to the public in October 2024, 12 Aug 2024
- MEED: Hudayriyat bridges tender, Bids due 9 Feb 2026
- Voice of Emirates: ADREC approves 8 new investment zones (50 in total, no public list), 18 Jul 2026
- u.ae: Expatriates buying a property in the UAE (official list of Abu Dhabi investment areas), Updated 28 Sep 2026
- Abu Dhabi Golden Visa for real estate investors (added.gov.ae), 24 Sep 2026
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