Aldar vs Nakheel

Aldar is the cheaper book per sqft, at AED 1,958 against AED 2,138 for Nakheel, so Nakheel is 9% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 5.60M for a median 2,210 sqft home from Aldar, against AED 5.60M for a median 2,921 sqft home from Nakheel. 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. Nakheel leans to 2 BR units, 109 records at AED 2,020 per sqft and AED 2.80M a unit.

Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 340K from Aldar and AED 600K from Nakheel.

Across 118 published plans from Aldar, the median asks 60% before handover, with 1% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Nakheel publishes 81 plans, a median of 80% before handover and 0% 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 91% of Nakheel plans. At the light end, 25% of Aldar plans and 9% of Nakheel 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. Nakheel builds in Dubai, across 13 communities, concentrated in Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Islands, Al Furjan.

Aldar peaks in 2029, when 45 of its 132 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Nakheel peaks in 2028 with 30 of 82. 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 46% for Nakheel. 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.