Investing in Abu Dhabi Property: The Full Guide to the Orven Collection

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, sits on the coast south west of Dubai. The emirate's newest residential addresses are spread across its islands: Saadiyat, a cultural district with its own museums and beaches; Yas, built around leisure; Al Reem, next to the Al Maryah financial district; and the newer Al Jubail, Ramhan and Al Hudayriyat islands. The same adviser who handles a Dubai purchase follows your Abu Dhabi purchase too, which is the reason this guide exists: to set out what is actually on the market today, in one place, before you start comparing individual units.

The nine projects, island by island

Orven's current Abu Dhabi collection holds nine projects across six islands and six developers. Prices below are the published starting prices where the developer discloses one; everything else is on request and confirmed by your adviser.

Island	Project	Developer	Typologies	Entry price	Delivery
Saadiyat	Sei Saadiyat	Aldar	Apartments 1 to 3 bed, 2-bed lofts	Price on request	Q4 2030
Saadiyat	SENSI	Reportage	Apartments 2 and 3 bed, 4-bed townhouses	From AED 2.8M	On request
Saadiyat	Talay at Marsa Al Saadiyat	Aldar	Villas 4 to 6 bed	Price on request	Q4 2030
Yas	Manchester City Yas Residences	Ohana	Townhouses, duplexes, villas 4 and 5 bed	Price on request	2029
Yas	Yas Park Place	Aldar	Studios to 3 bed, 2-bed duplexes	Price on request	Q1 2030
Al Reem	Muheira	Modon	Apartments 1 to 3 bed	From AED 1.6M	Q2 2029
Al Hudayriyat	Nawayef East	Modon	Villas 4 to 8 bed	From AED 6.6M	December 2028
Al Jubail	Bada Al Jubail	LEAD	Mansions, nine typologies	Price on request	End 2027
Ramhan	Ramhan Island	Eagle Hills	Villas 3 to 7 bed, marina apartments	Price on request	On request

Three of the nine disclose a starting price: Muheira from AED 1.6 million, SENSI from AED 2.8 million, and Nawayef East from AED 6.6 million. The other six are priced on request, which your adviser confirms against current availability before you reserve.

The legal framework in brief

Abu Dhabi's property law, Law No. 19 of 2005, amended in April 2019, lets non-UAE nationals, whether individuals or companies, hold the full range of real rights over property located inside designated investment zones. Outside those zones, ownership stays reserved. The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) counts 50 investment zones across the emirate as of the first half of 2026, including eight approved during that half year; a separate, older list published on the federal portal u.ae names nine zones by name, among them Yas, Saadiyat and Al Reem. Ownership can take the form of full ownership, musataha (a 50-year renewable right to use, build on and modify land), usufruct (99 years) or a long lease of at least 25 years. Our guide on the Golden Visa's 2 million AED property threshold covers the residency side of the same federal framework. Our freehold, usufruct and musataha guide for Abu Dhabi sets out the regimes in more depth.

Developers describe some of the islands in the collection as open to all nationalities on a freehold basis: Al Reem and Al Hudayriyat, according to Modon, and Al Jubail Island, according to its own official site. Ramhan Island has no sourced statement on its foreign ownership regime, so treat that one as a question to confirm with your adviser rather than an assumption. For every project, the exact regime, ownership or musataha, and the share reserved for non-Emiratis are points to verify on the sale and purchase agreement and the DARI certificate, not from marketing copy alone.

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What buying actually costs

Off-plan sales in Abu Dhabi are registered on DARI, the ADREC platform, by the developer, not the buyer. The registration fee is 2% of the price for full ownership or 1% for musataha, plus a 400 AED electronic services fee before 5% VAT. A developer who misses the 21-day registration window after the sale date faces a 10,000 AED penalty, and the project must carry an escrow account. On a completed property, registration runs at 2% of the contract value plus an 875 AED electronic fee. Who actually pays the 2%, buyer, seller or a split, is set out in the sale and purchase agreement rather than fixed by default. On the figures published across the collection, 2% works out to 32,000 AED on Muheira's 1.6 million AED entry price, 56,000 AED on SENSI's 2.8 million, and 132,000 AED on Nawayef East's 6.6 million. Agency commission, service charges and utility connection fees are not sourced for Abu Dhabi and are confirmed by your adviser case by case.

The Golden Visa, Abu Dhabi style

The federal Golden Visa rule applies the same way in Abu Dhabi as anywhere else in the UAE: a property investment of at least 2 million AED opens the right to apply, subject to conditions confirmed with the authorities. Against that threshold, SENSI's 2.8 million AED and Nawayef East's 6.6 million AED entry prices clear it; Muheira's 1.6 million AED sits below it at entry, though a larger unit in the same building could clear the threshold. None of the six projects priced on request can be called eligible until a price is confirmed.

Matching a project to your goal

An apartment in a cultural district. Sei Saadiyat and SENSI both sit on Saadiyat Island, within reach of the district's museums and beaches, with apartment and townhouse formats rather than standalone villas.
A villa by the water. Talay at Marsa Al Saadiyat and Nawayef East both publish villa-only collections, the former on Saadiyat's beachfront masterplan, the latter on a hillside community on Al Hudayriyat Island.
A sport-branded residence. Manchester City Yas Residences is the one project in the collection built around a football club identity, with its own publicly disclosed payment split for non-Emiratis.
An ultra-high-end mansion. Bada Al Jubail's nine mansion typologies, each with a private plot and mooring, sit at the top of the collection, priced on request.

Points to verify before you reserve

Treat the following as open questions for your adviser rather than settled facts: the exact ownership regime of the specific unit, whether the project sits inside one of ADREC's 50 investment zones, which party pays the 2% registration fee under the draft sale and purchase agreement, and whether a price-on-request unit will, once disclosed, clear the Golden Visa threshold. Orven follows your Abu Dhabi purchase from Dubai, where brokerage is carried out through ORVEN REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE L.L.C S.P.C (Economic License No. CN-6800129, ADRA). For the wider destination, see the Abu Dhabi collection page and the destinations overview; for Dubai comparisons, see our guide on the Golden Visa's 2 million AED threshold. Message Orven on WhatsApp at +971 52 776 1939 or by email at sales@orvenproperties.com with your budget and the island you have in mind, and your adviser replies with current availability across all nine projects.

FAQ

Which Abu Dhabi project has the lowest published starting price? Muheira on Al Reem Island, from AED 1.6 million, among the projects that currently disclose a starting price. The other eight are priced on request or start higher.

Can a foreigner own property outright in Abu Dhabi? Inside the emirate's designated investment zones, yes, under Law No. 19 of 2005 as amended in 2019. Outside those zones, ownership stays reserved. The exact regime for a specific unit is confirmed at contract stage.

Does every project in the collection qualify for the Golden Visa? Only once the unit price reaches AED 2 million, subject to conditions confirmed with the authorities. SENSI and Nawayef East clear that threshold at entry price; the price-on-request projects cannot be called eligible yet.

How much are the registration fees on an off-plan purchase? 2% of the price for full ownership, or 1% for musataha, plus a 400 AED electronic services fee, registered by the developer on DARI within 21 days of the sale. Who pays is set out in the sale and purchase agreement.

Can I buy in Abu Dhabi without visiting the UAE? Yes, Orven handles the process remotely from Dubai, from first call to registration. Confirm any step requiring your physical presence with your adviser before you reserve.