Abu Dhabi introduces mortgages for homes under construction
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, has introduced a new mortgage lending mechanism for housing under construction. Buyers who have already paid 50% of the property's value will be able to obtain a mortgage before construction is completed, The National reports.
The new rules allow mortgage rights for properties purchased at the construction stage to be registered in the Primary Real Estate Register before construction is completed. According to market participants, this should give buyers more certainty regarding sources of funds for subsequent payments and facilitate financial planning.
First transactions under the new rules
The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, Adrec, reported that the option to register mortgages for such properties has been in effect since March 2026. After aligning requirements with developers and financial institutions, the first registration was completed under the new mechanism.
Developer Aldar became the first company to complete mortgage financing arrangements for a property under construction under the new rules. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank acted as the lender in this transaction.
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Demand for homes under construction
In the first half of 2026, residential property sales in Abu Dhabi reached 70.4 billion dirhams, or $19 billion. Transactions involving properties under construction accounted for 89% of the total value of such sales.
The total value of real estate transactions in the emirate rose by 112% year-on-year in the first six months of the year, to 117 billion dirhams. The number of transactions increased by 61.7%, to 16,838. Mortgage lending volume grew by one-third, to 26.7 billion dirhams, across 8,876 transactions.
Analysts at CBRE Middle East and North Africa and representatives of the development sector believe that the new mechanism could expand the pool of solvent buyers, reduce the risk of liquidity shortages at later construction stages, and increase transaction transparency for buyers, banks, and developers.
