Abu Dhabi vs Umm Al Quwain
At the median, Umm Al Quwain asks AED 2,599 per sqft against AED 1,981 in Abu Dhabi, 31% dearer per sqft. Half of the Umm Al Quwain inventory we hold a price for sits between AED 2,079 and AED 2,774 per sqft, against AED 1,600 to AED 2,969 in Abu Dhabi.
The ticket runs the other way. Abu Dhabi is the cheaper square foot and the more expensive home: a median AED 4.58M against AED 2.05M, because the median unit there is 2,210 sqft against 824 sqft. Comparing headline prices between the two without normalising for floor area gets the direction of the gap backwards.
Abu Dhabi carries the larger book: 269 tracked off-plan projects and 1,757 priced unit records, against 30 projects and 2,229 for Umm Al Quwain.
Abu Dhabi asks for less cash before handover: the median plan takes 50% before keys across 398 published plans, against 60% across 32 plans in Umm Al Quwain.
Price per sqft, and the band around it
Dot is the median AED per sqft, bar is p25 to p75. Figures after each name are the median AED per sqft and the priced units.
- Umm Al Quwain2,599 2,229
- Abu Dhabi1,981 1,757
Dot is the median asking price per sqft, bar is the middle half of the priced inventory. Bases are 1,757 priced units in Abu Dhabi and 2,229 in Umm Al Quwain.
Side by side
| Metric | Abu Dhabi | Umm Al Quwain |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan projects tracked | 269 | 30 |
| Priced units | 1,757 | 2,229 |
| Median AED per sqft | 1,981 | 2,599 |
| AED per sqft, p25 to p75 | 1,600 to 2,969 | 2,079 to 2,774 |
| Median unit size, sqft | 2,210 | 824 |
| Median asking price | AED 4.58M | AED 2.05M |
| Lowest starting price | AED 340K | AED 690K |
| Median booking deposit | 10% | 20% |
| Median paid before handover | 50% | 60% |
| Plans with a post-handover tail | 6% | 6% |
| Peak handover year | 2029 (73 projects) | 2028 (12 projects) |
| Communities tracked | 28 | 4 |
| Developers building | 63 | 3 |
| Projects sold out or gone | 35% | 3% |
Every figure is computed by OffplanIndex over developer-published unit inventories and payment plans, and every row uses that emirate's own records. Two emirates with very different book sizes are still compared at the median, so a thin book moves on less evidence than a thick one. Not investment advice.
Price
Abu Dhabi is the cheaper square foot, AED 1,981 against AED 2,599 in Umm Al Quwain, so Umm Al Quwain is 31% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 4.58M for a median 2,210 sqft home in Abu Dhabi, against AED 2.05M for a median 824 sqft home in Umm Al Quwain. Part of that gap is product rather than location: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.
Abu Dhabi publishes mostly 2 BR units, 539 priced records at a median AED 2,181 per sqft and AED 3.67M a unit. Umm Al Quwain leans to 2 BR units, 1,462 records at AED 2,650 per sqft and AED 2.14M a unit.
Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price anywhere in Abu Dhabi is AED 340K, against AED 690K in Umm Al Quwain. That is a single listing on each side, so read it as what exists rather than as a level.
Terms
Across 398 published plans in Abu Dhabi, the median asks 10% on booking and 50% before handover, with 6% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Umm Al Quwain publishes 32 plans: 20% on booking, 60% before handover and 6% with a post-handover tail.
The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 45% of Abu Dhabi plans want 60% or more before keys, against 94% in Umm Al Quwain. At the light end, 51% of Abu Dhabi plans and 6% of Umm Al Quwain plans ask 50% or less.
Concentration
Al Reem Island carries 67 of Abu Dhabi's 269 tracked projects, 25% of the emirate, across 28 tracked communities. Umm Al Quwain Marina carries 22 of Umm Al Quwain's 30, 73%, across 4 communities. A concentrated emirate median is a project decision rather than a market signal: if the anchor scheme reprices, the emirate reprices with it.
On the supply side, Aldar is the largest builder in Abu Dhabi with 89 projects of 63 developers active, and Sobha Realty leads Umm Al Quwain with 26 of 3.
Largest in Abu Dhabi: Al Reem Island, Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, Masdar City, Hudayriyat Island. Largest in Umm Al Quwain: Umm Al Quwain Marina, Sobha Siniya Island, Al Raudah, Sobha Aquamont.
When and what is left
Abu Dhabi peaks in 2029, when 73 of its 269 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Umm Al Quwain peaks in 2028 with 12 of 30. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than as a delivered date.
35% of the Abu Dhabi projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 3% in Umm Al Quwain. A young book looks available because it launched recently, and an old one looks scarce because what did not sell has quietly stopped being listed, so this is a supply reading rather than a demand one.
Go deeper
More comparisons
The full report: every community, every developer, ranked.
Abu Dhabi and Umm Al Quwain in context: price per sqft by community and developer, payment plan structures ranked by cash due before handover, the 2026 to 2029 delivery pipeline, and the CSV behind every table. PDF plus data, delivered instantly.
Source: OffplanIndex derived analytics, built 2026-09-02 from developer-published project facts and unit inventories aggregated from public portals (latest observation 2026-07-30). All statistics are computed by OffplanIndex; no third-party database is reproduced. See the methodology and data policy. Not investment advice.