Aldar vs DAMAC

DAMAC is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,580 against AED 1,958 for Aldar, so Aldar is 24% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 2.67M for a median 1,423 sqft home from DAMAC, against AED 5.60M for a median 2,210 sqft home from Aldar. Part of that gap is product, not premium: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.

Aldar sells mostly 2 BR units, 243 priced records at a median AED 3,420 per sqft and AED 6.58M a unit. DAMAC leans to 1 BR units, 584 records at AED 1,671 per sqft and AED 1.56M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 340K from Aldar and AED 536K from DAMAC.

Across 118 published plans from Aldar, the median asks 60% before handover, with 1% carrying instalments that run past the keys. DAMAC publishes 204 plans, a median of 75% before handover and 3% with a post-handover tail.

The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 72% of Aldar plans want 60% or more before keys, against 89% of DAMAC plans. At the light end, 25% of Aldar plans and 11% of DAMAC plans ask 50% or less.

Aldar builds in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 13 communities, most of it in Dubailand, Saadiyat Island, Yas Island. DAMAC builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 23 communities, concentrated in DAMAC Lagoons, Dubai Investments Park, DAMAC Hills.

Aldar peaks in 2029, when 45 of its 132 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. DAMAC peaks in 2027 with 52 of 174. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than a delivered date.

30% of the Aldar projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 35% for DAMAC. That is the share of each book no longer taking new bookings at listed prices, which reads as demand on the way in and as scarcity on the way out.