Frequently Asked Questions
37 answers on ADREC data, rental yields, forecasts, Golden Visa, freehold zones, tax, and Daar methodology. Grounded in transaction data.
Jump to section
ADREC & data
What is ADREC?
ADREC (Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre) is the Abu Dhabi government body responsible for regulating the real estate sector and publishing official transaction data. Every recorded property sale, lease, and mortgage in the emirate flows through ADREC's systems. Daar uses ADREC's published transaction data as the sole source of truth for its analytics — no listings, no forecasts, no third-party estimates.
Where does Daar's data come from?
All transaction data on Daar comes directly from the official ADREC platform. We refresh the data roughly once a day, remove clear data-entry errors (sub-AED-50K 'transactions' that are almost always registration fees), and apply project-name normalisation (e.g. Sky Gardens Tower → Sun & Sky, Boutik Mall). Everything else — prices, areas, property types, developer names — is preserved exactly as ADREC published it.
How many transactions does Daar cover?
As of the latest refresh, Daar covers over 102,900 verified ADREC transactions spanning January 2019 through the most recent publication. Total transacted value exceeds AED 357 billion across 112 districts.
How fresh is the data on Daar?
ADREC publishes with a 2-3 day lag. Daar refreshes from the official platform whenever new transactions appear — typically daily. You can see the 'last updated' date on every page; it reflects the most recent transaction date in our dataset, not a cached value.
Why does Daar cost nothing to use?
Daar is free because the underlying data is public and we believe access to it shouldn't be gated behind broker paywalls or enterprise subscriptions. The platform is independently funded during this phase. No listings, no lead-gen, no broker fees — if we ever introduce paid tiers it'll be for advanced institutional features, not basic access.
Pricing & valuation
What is the average property price in Abu Dhabi?
The average price across all transaction types since 2019 is approximately AED 1.8 million. For apartments specifically, the median is around AED 1.1 million; for villas, around AED 4.2 million. Prices vary dramatically by district — Al Reem Island averages AED 1.4 million while Al Saadiyat Island averages over AED 3 million.
What is price-to-rent ratio and why does it matter?
Price-to-rent (P/R) is the sale price divided by annual rent. It tells you how many years of rent would equal the purchase price. For Abu Dhabi apartments, anything under 15x is considered undervalued, 15-20x is fair, 20-25x is premium, and above 25x is expensive. P/R is the single cleanest valuation signal because it ignores appreciation assumptions and focuses on pure income fundamentals.
How accurate are Daar's price forecasts?
We back-test every forecast using walk-forward validation on historical data. Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) sits at 25-40% for 1-year forecasts, 40-60% for 2-year, and 55-80% for 3-year. Every forecast on the site displays its empirical MAPE band, so you always know the uncertainty. Forecasts are useful as a compass direction, not as a pinpoint estimate.
Why does Daar's 'repeat-sales index' differ so much from ADREC's published price index?
ADREC's published index includes new-build luxury supply alongside resale transactions, so when a wave of Saadiyat penthouses clears the market the index spikes — not because individual apartments got more expensive, but because the mix shifted upward. Daar's repeat-sales index matches each property to its own prior sale (15,488 matched pairs so far) and measures price change per unit. Result: ADREC shows +96% since 2019; Daar shows +4% per unit. Both are true, they measure different things.
Rental yield
What are the best rental yields in Abu Dhabi?
As of the latest data, the highest gross yields among districts with sufficient transaction volume are Mazyad (around 10%), Al Reef (8-9%), and Al Shamkhah (7-8%). Premium island districts like Al Saadiyat and Yas Island offer 4-5% — lower cash-flow returns but higher capital appreciation potential. Yield rankings update with every data refresh; see the Dashboard's Rental Leaderboard for the current list.
How does Daar calculate rental yield?
Gross yield = median annual rent divided by median sale price, computed separately per bedroom-count layout (studio, 1BR, 2BR, etc.). Districts with enough layout-level sample get per-layout figures; districts where ADREC files older inner-city sales under an 'unclassified' layout get a pooled district-level calculation (marked as lower confidence). Net yield assumes 7% operating expenses for service charges, management fees, and vacancy.
What does 'confidence tier' mean on yield figures?
Yield figures are tagged High, Medium, or Low confidence based on sample size. High = at least 100 comparable sales and 30 comparable rents in the district; Medium = 30 and 10; Low = under those thresholds. Low-confidence yields are still shown but shouldn't be treated as precise — use them for a directional read only.
Off-plan & primary market
What's the difference between off-plan, primary, and secondary?
Primary = a first-time sale from a developer, either off-plan (sold before/during construction) or newly ready. Secondary (also called resale) = a unit that has already had at least one prior owner. Primary transactions often carry a premium because developers add marketing costs, payment plans, and brand equity; secondary prices reveal the real resale value once the dust settles.
Is off-plan safer than secondary in Abu Dhabi?
It depends. Abu Dhabi protects off-plan buyers through escrow accounts at registered developers, so the cash-flow risk is lower than in unregulated markets. But off-plan pricing is often 20-40% above resale for comparable units in the same project — meaning if you sell the unit after handover, you may get less than you paid. The safer metric is price-to-rent after handover, which equalises off-plan and resale on a returns basis.
What is the primary-secondary spread and why track it?
It's the percentage difference between the median primary sale price and the median secondary resale price in a market. Right now Abu Dhabi's spread is around -42% (secondary trades 42% below primary) and widening. A widening spread means new-build launches are outpacing secondary-market absorption — often a leading indicator of a supply shock. A narrowing spread usually signals a maturing market.
Golden Visa
Which Abu Dhabi properties qualify for the Golden Visa?
Any single Abu Dhabi freehold property valued at AED 2 million or more qualifies the owner for a 10-year UAE Golden Visa. The property must be held in the owner's personal name (not a company), cannot be under mortgage for more than 50% of value, and must be in a freehold zone. Daar's Dashboard lists every project currently trading at or above the threshold.
Can I pool multiple properties to reach AED 2 million for the Golden Visa?
No. The rule specifically requires a single property with a minimum value of AED 2 million. Multiple smaller units don't combine, even if their total exceeds the threshold. Some investors buy a qualifying property to unlock the visa, then add smaller income-focused properties afterward.
Is the Golden Visa tied to keeping the property?
Yes. If you sell the qualifying property and drop below AED 2 million in qualifying real estate holdings, the visa is revoked at its next renewal. Most Golden Visa holders therefore treat that first qualifying property as a long-term hold rather than a trading asset.
Freehold & ownership
Which Abu Dhabi areas are freehold?
Foreign nationals can freehold-own in designated investment zones: Al Reem Island, Yas Island, Al Saadiyat Island, Al Raha Beach, Al Maryah Island, Al Reef, Al Hidayriyyat, Fahid Island, Jubail Island, Ramhan Island, parts of Mohammed Bin Zayed City, and select projects in Khalifa City. Other areas are typically leasehold (up to 99 years) or restricted to GCC/Emirati nationals.
What's the difference between freehold and leasehold in Abu Dhabi?
Freehold = you own the property and the plot it sits on in perpetuity, with full rights to sell, lease, mortgage, and bequeath. Leasehold = you hold a time-limited right (usually 99 years) to occupy the property while the land title stays with a master developer or the government. Leasehold units typically trade at 15-25% below comparable freehold units because of the time-expiring nature of the title.
Can foreigners buy property in Abu Dhabi?
Yes, in any designated freehold investment zone. The process requires a valid passport, a UAE Emirates ID (even on a visit visa the buyer can register), and payment of a 2% transfer fee to ADREC on top of the purchase price. Mortgages are available from most UAE banks with 20-25% down for residents and 30-40% down for non-residents.
Daar methodology
Does Daar use AI to price properties?
No. Every headline number on the site is computed deterministically from ADREC transaction data — medians, YoY changes, rolling windows, yield calculations, and so on. AI (Anthropic's Claude model) is used for three specific purposes: generating the written narrative on each district deep-dive page, writing the weekly email briefing, and powering the AI Advisor chat. Forecasts use classical regression, not machine learning.
How often is the data updated?
ADREC publishes with a 2-3 day lag. Daar refreshes from the official platform typically once per day. The banner date on every page reflects the latest transaction date in our dataset. The weekly briefing fires every Monday at 06:00 Abu Dhabi time and always reflects the most recent data available.
Does Daar have an affiliation with any developer or broker?
No. Daar is an independent analytics platform. We do not take commissions, referral fees, or listing revenue from any developer, broker, or property owner. The data and recommendations are based solely on transaction evidence. If you want an introduction to an agent, Daar does not provide one — we leave that relationship to you.
Using Daar
How do I compare two districts?
Go to /compare and pick up to three districts from the chip picker. Each gets its own column showing median price, gross yield, price-to-rent ratio, valuation bucket, YoY and QoQ change, and confidence tier. The AI-generated Insight synthesises the comparison into 2-3 sentences for quick scanning.
How do I see prices for a specific project?
Type the district into the global search or navigate via /map. Every district's deep-dive page lists the top projects with average price, total deal count, and breakdown by primary vs secondary. For project-vs-project comparison use the Comparison tool, which also surfaces primary-to-resale spread per project.
Can I subscribe to a weekly market briefing?
Yes. At /contact (or the subscribe block on any district page) you can enter your email plus up to 10 districts you want to track. Every Monday at 06:00 Abu Dhabi time you'll receive a compact multi-district briefing showing last-30d and last-90d deal velocity, price changes, top projects, forecasts, and actionable signals per district.
Can I access Daar data via API?
Not publicly, yet. The backend is REST-style and could be exposed, but for now Daar is frontend-only. If you have a specific integration need — weekly exports, custom dashboards, embedding — reach out at daarintelligence@gmail.com and we'll build the endpoint you need.
Does Daar work on mobile?
Yes. The site is a progressive web app (PWA) — you can 'Install to Home Screen' from Safari on iOS or Chrome on Android and get a native-feeling experience with offline caching of recently viewed pages. The weekly briefing also renders well in Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook mobile.
Advanced metrics
What is the Laspeyres-style YoY waterfall?
It decomposes the year-over-year change in total residential transaction value into three drivers: Volume (more or fewer deals), Price (higher or lower average prices), and Mix (interaction between the two). Same technique corporate finance teams use for revenue bridges and central banks use for GDP decomposition. In Abu Dhabi 2024→2025, the +77% YoY value growth breaks down to 77% volume, 15% price, 8% mix — meaning the market grew because more people bought, not mainly because prices rose.
What is the 'market temperature' signal?
Temperature is computed from the supply-vs-demand balance in each district: HOT = listings clear quickly and listing premium to transaction price is tight; WARM = balanced; COLD = listings sit and the premium is wide. It combines inventory count, transaction velocity, and the listing-to-transaction price spread into a single label.
What is 'listing premium' and why track it?
Listing premium is the difference between the average listing price on portals and the average transaction price at ADREC, in the same district and timeframe. A 5-8% premium is normal (marketing markup, negotiation room). When it exceeds 15%, sellers are anchoring too high and transactions slow — often a leading indicator of a cooling market.
How does Daar detect price-decline alerts?
An alert fires when a district's quarter-on-quarter median price/sqm drops by more than 5%, with a minimum of 50 transactions in the quarter (so statistical noise doesn't trigger it). The 'Districts to Watch' section on Dashboard and the Weekly Briefing surface these live. Back-test hit rate is tracked on /methodology — when a district triggers the alert, the next-quarter price decline continues in 68% of cases.
Tax & regulation
Do I pay capital gains tax on Abu Dhabi real estate?
No. The UAE has no personal capital gains tax on property. When you sell, you keep the entire gain (after transfer fees and broker commissions). Corporate tax of 9% applies if the property is held in a corporate vehicle earning above AED 375,000 annually, but individuals pay zero.
Is rental income taxable in Abu Dhabi?
Not at the personal level. Individual landlords pay zero income tax on rental income. If you hold property through a UAE corporate entity, 9% corporate tax applies to profits above AED 375,000 per year. Most retail investors hold property in personal name and pay no tax on the income stream.
What fees do I pay when buying in Abu Dhabi?
Total one-off transaction costs typically run 4-5% of purchase price: 2% ADREC transfer fee, 0.5-1% broker commission (if used), AED 1,000-5,000 trustee fee, and 0.25% bank registration fee if mortgaging. There are no stamp duties or property transfer taxes beyond the ADREC fee.
What are service charges and how much do they cost?
Service charges cover building maintenance, security, cleaning, chiller cooling, shared amenities, and master-community fees. In Abu Dhabi they typically run AED 10-25 per sqft per year for apartments in free-zone towers, and AED 5-15 per sqft for villa communities. Daar's net yield calculation assumes 7% opex which captures these charges plus vacancy allowance.
Question not answered here?
Ask the AI Advisor →