Aldar vs Emaar

Aldar is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,958 against AED 2,068 for Emaar, so Emaar is 6% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 5.60M for a median 2,210 sqft home from Aldar, against AED 3.19M for a median 1,554 sqft home from Emaar. 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. Emaar leans to 2 BR units, 501 records at AED 2,241 per sqft and AED 2.84M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 340K from Aldar and AED 660K from Emaar.

Across 118 published plans from Aldar, the median asks 60% before handover, with 1% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Emaar publishes 272 plans, a median of 80% before handover and 11% 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 Emaar plans. At the light end, 25% of Aldar plans and 10% of Emaar 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. Emaar builds in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, across 28 communities, concentrated in The Valley, Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Hills Estate.

Aldar peaks in 2029, when 45 of its 132 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Emaar peaks in 2029 with 82 of 240. 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 54% for Emaar. 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.