Al Maryah Island is at the center of one of the most ambitious urban planning projects in global finance: an artificial island in the heart of Abu Dhabi designed from the outset to become the Manhattan of the Emirates. In just three square kilometers, glass skyscrapers, headquarters of major international banking groups, and luxury residences coexist that still do not trade at the prices they would deserve.
The gap with the neighboring market remains huge and, above all, real. Investors who buy here today find high-end properties between 40% and 50% below equivalent prices on the other side of the desert. This is not a temporary anomaly: it reflects a market that is still growing and enjoys strong institutional tailwinds.
The most recent catalyst leaves no room for doubt. In December 2025, Mubadala Investment Company and Aldar Properties announced a expansion of more than 60 billion dirhams to double the stock of Grade A office space and add 3,000 new luxury residences to the island. This plan is not private speculation: it is state policy.
The invisible engine: Abu Dhabi Global Market
The real secret of Al Maryah Island is not its towers or its sea views: it is the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the financial free zone that operates on the island under its own legal framework based on English Common Law. This uniqueness attracts global law firms, asset managers, and banking groups that are looking for legal certainty without giving up the Gulf’s tax advantages.
The list of corporate tenants is an argument in itself. From top-tier global banks to strategy consultancies and sovereign funds, the island’s business ecosystem generates a constant high‑net‑worth residential demand. Those who want to live close to where the money moves are willing to pay, and that tenant profile is plentiful here.
Why Al Maryah Island is already attracting European investors
The factors behind the growing interest from buyers in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom are concrete and verifiable:
- Full freehold ownership for foreigners with no restrictions on capital repatriation
- Gross annual rental yields of 5% to 7% on residential properties
- Zero personal income tax and no taxation on real estate capital gains
- Legal framework based on English Common Law, familiar and predictable for Western investors
- Entry prices starting from AED 615,000 (~155,000 euros) for studios, well below mature markets
- Institutional expansion secured with more than 16 billion dollars already committed by sovereign funds
- Integration within the same district of the Cleveland Clinic hospital, Galleria Mall, and top‑tier business parks
The regional context favors entering now. While Dubai has seen three consecutive years of price increases that have exhausted the margin for many buyers, Abu Dhabi remains the Emirate’s market with the greatest upside potential.
What you can buy today and at what price
2025 market data place the average price per square meter at around AED 12,800 (~3,200 euros/m²). For a two‑bedroom apartment, the usual range runs from AED 968,000 to AED 1,560,000, depending on the project and the views. In Downtown Dubai, these figures would easily double.
At the top end, residences at the Four Seasons Al Maryah Island have surpassed 1.7 million dollars for a two‑bedroom unit. In the more accessible segment, the Al Maryah Vista complex offers studios from AED 462,000, an ideal option for investors seeking rental yield with minimal initial capital exposure.
The profile of investors already entering
The typical buyer on Al Maryah Island in 2026 is no longer the large institutional fund. The profile has diversified significantly:
- European investors with mid‑to‑high net worth diversifying away from continental real estate
- Entrepreneurs with business activity in the Gulf seeking a residential base and tax advantages
- Families looking for a second home with passive income in a safe, cosmopolitan environment
- High‑productivity digital nomads attracted by zero taxation and world‑class infrastructure
- Investors already active in Dubai who want to diversify within the same Emirati ecosystem
- Mid‑sized funds betting on the long term in highly liquid institutional markets
The purchasing process is also simpler than many Europeans imagine. Abu Dhabi does not require a prior visa, and the procedures can be completed partly remotely, with agents specialized in Spanish‑speaking buyers.
The outlook for the next five years: no turning back
The outlook for Al Maryah Island is anchored in public commitments of historic scale. The expansion plan announced in December 2025 will double the supply of Grade A office space and add thousands of luxury residential units, creating sustained demand pressure throughout the next decade.
Gulf real estate analysts point to a potential appreciation of 20% to 35% over the 2026–2031 period, driven by the arrival of new corporate headquarters and a growing population of high‑profile residents. The gap between current prices and target prices is, as of today, the strongest investment argument in the entire region.
The window will not remain open indefinitely. Once Al Maryah Island fully matures as a global financial district, its prices will reflect that status with no discount. Those who enter before that inflection point will have built wealth in the most solid way possible: by buying real assets, in an institutional environment, backed by the economic policy of a sovereign state.
