City of Lights
FromAED 825,0004 homes
Three studios from AED 825,000, one with a sea view at AED 1,300,000, and a 642 sq ft one bedroom at AED 1,000,000.
25 apartments on our list, 11 on Al Reem Island
Apartments for Sale Under AED 1.5 Million
In Abu Dhabi, past AED 1 million the island apartment gets a bedroom.
Six Al Reem one bedrooms, 493 to 860 sq ft, sit between AED 1,000,000 and AED 1,316,000. A Saadiyat studio joins the list at AED 1,150,000.
25Apartments on the list today
13One bedrooms among them
11On Al Reem Island
AED 550,000Lowest price on the list
At a glance
Apartments under AED 1.5 million at a glance
Read off the 25 apartments on our list on the day this page was written. Homes sell and new ones list, so treat it as today's picture.
- Apartments on the list
- 25, from AED 550,000 to AED 1,316,000
- With a separate bedroom
- 15: 13 one bedrooms and 2 two bedrooms
- On Al Reem Island
- 11 homes in 6 parts of the island, from AED 825,000
- Only above AED 1 million
- 10 homes, among them 5 island one bedrooms and Saadiyat
- Finished or contract
- 11 finished, 13 resold contracts, 1 sold by the developer
- Smallest and largest
- 320 sq ft on Saadiyat, 1,140 sq ft in Al Reef Downtown
- The gap at the top
- Nothing listed from AED 1,316,000 to AED 1,500,000
- Projects taking bookings
- 36, against 22 at an AED 1 million ceiling
Reading the step
What the half million above AED 1 million changes
Ten more homes is the small part. What matters is which ten: five more island one bedrooms, a second two bedroom, and Saadiyat as a tenth area. The first island one bedroom sits exactly on AED 1,000,000.
BudgetAED 500,000
0 homes2 projects0 areasNothing finished listed. Two projects take a booking.
BudgetAED 750,000
4 homes10 projects3 areasFour homes: Al Ghadeer, Masdar City, Zayed City.
BudgetAED 1,000,000
15 homes22 projects9 areasNine areas, and every island home this low is a studio.
BudgetAED 1,500,000
25 homes36 projects10 areasSix island one bedrooms, and Saadiyat opens.
In City of Lights, AED 175,000 more buys the bedroom
The studio there is 424 sq ft at AED 825,000. The one bedroom is 642 sq ft at AED 1,000,000. The extra 218 sq ft costs about AED 800 each, against about AED 1,946 for the studio's own space.
Move the budget, watch the choice
Every step is counted from our own stock, so the slider can never claim a home we do not hold.
Lowest stepThis page
25homes today
36projects
10areas
Six island one bedrooms, and Saadiyat opens.
Counts come from our own listings and catalogue, so they move as homes sell.
Inside Al Reem Island
Six parts of Al Reem Island under AED 1.5 million
More than half the list is off the island, but five of the six one bedrooms above AED 1 million are on Al Reem, where the part of the island sets the size and the rate.
Julphar Residence
FromAED 840,0001 home
A 421 sq ft studio with a balcony, the second lowest price on Al Reem.
Tamouh
FromAED 860,0002 homes
A studio at AED 860,000, and the dearest home on this page: an 821 sq ft one bedroom at AED 1,316,000.
Shams Abu Dhabi
FromAED 1,051,0001 home
A 597 sq ft one bedroom, the lowest island one bedroom above AED 1 million.
Vista 3
FromAED 1,200,0001 home
A 493 sq ft one bedroom: the smallest of the six, and the steepest at about AED 2,434 a sq ft.
Marina Square
FromAED 1,250,0002 homes
Two finished one bedrooms of 807 and 860 sq ft, one on the waterfront, one with a full sea view.
The other 14 homes are off Al Reem. Al Ghadeer opens the list at AED 550,000, Al Maryah Island has a studio at AED 780,000 and Saadiyat one at AED 1,150,000.
On the market now
Apartments for sale under AED 1.5 million this week
Read the size on each card with the price. On this list the two do not move together.
AED 550,000Studio | Waterfall District | Pool View Terrace
Studio · 1,011 sq ft
Waterfall District, Al Ghadeer
View
AED 699,999
AED 700,000
AED 720,000
AED 780,000
AED 800,000Still selling
Off plan apartment projects under AED 1.5 million
Al Reem leads off plan as well. Nine projects there open at AED 915,000 or less, starting with Radisson Residences at AED 500,000.
By home size
What each size costs per square foot
At this ceiling the studio is the dear way to buy floor area, and the one bedroom the efficient one.
| Size | On the list | Lowest rate | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| StudioThe AED 544 counts a terrace. The average is about AED 2,020, and AED 3,594 on Saadiyat. | 10 homes | AED 544 per sq ft | 6 of the 10 areas |
| 1 bedroomAverages about AED 1,540. The five below AED 1,000,000 are all on the mainland. | 13 homes | AED 1,074 per sq ft | 7 of the 10 areas |
| 2 bedrooms1,042 sq ft at AED 950,000 and 1,140 sq ft at AED 1,200,000. Neither is on an island. | 2 homes | AED 912 per sq ft | Al Ghadeer 1 and Al Reef Downtown |
The real choice
A finished home, or somebody else's contract
On this list, contracts sold on before handover outnumber finished homes. Ask who you are paying, and what is still owed.
| A finished home, or somebody else's contract | Ready | Off plan |
|---|---|---|
| On the list today | 11 finished apartments you can walk through | 13 resold contracts and 1 sold by the developer |
| Who you pay | The seller, once, at transfer | The seller for what is paid in, then the developer for the rest |
| What the price holds | The finished home | What the seller has paid so far, plus their premium |
| The extra step | None beyond the transfer | A No Objection Certificate from the developer, with its own fee |
Want to stand in the room before you commit? Eleven homes allow it. A contract more than doubles the choice and keeps payments spread, but you agree a premium as well as a price.
What leaves the account
The costs on top of an apartment under AED 1.5 million
Standard Abu Dhabi rates, worked on homes from this page. Resold contracts add one fee that no developer publishes.
| Cost | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer fee | 2% of the price | AED 26,320 on the AED 1,316,000 Tamouh one bedroom. |
| Down Payment with a mortgage | 20% expatriates, 15% UAE nationals | AED 200,000 or AED 150,000 on the AED 1,000,000 City of Lights one bedroom. |
| Loan set up and valuation | About 1% of the loan, plus valuation | About AED 8,000 plus about AED 3,000 on that home, with 80% borrowed. |
| Developer fee on a resold contract | Set by each developer | 13 of the 25 homes carry it. Get the figure in writing before you agree a price. |
What AED 1.5 million leaves after the top home
The dearest home here is AED 1,316,000. The 2% transfer fee adds AED 26,320, so AED 1,342,320 leaves the account and AED 157,680 of the ceiling is left. It is a resold contract, so the developer's fee comes out of that too.
Rates at the time of writing. The developer fee is whatever that developer charges on the day. We put every cost in writing before you commit.
Run your own number
Price the step past AED 1 million, month by month
Two presets are homes on this page: AED 950,000, the Al Ghadeer two bedroom, and AED 1,200,000, the Vista 3 one bedroom on Al Reem. Compare their monthly repayments.
Use a price from the list
Repayment each monthAED 4,767
- Amount borrowed
- AED 880,000
- Cash needed on the day
- AED 242,000The Down Payment and the 2% transfer fee
- Total paid across the term
- AED 1,650,189
Arithmetic on what you enter. Your rate depends on your income, age, residency and the building, so ask us for a broker's quote.
How it works
How to buy an apartment under AED 1.5 million
Four steps. The first decides the rest: a finished home and a contract follow different paths.
- 01
Ask what kind of sale it is
A finished resale, a resold contract or a developer sale. Price, papers and wait all differ, and the listing rarely says.
- 02
Agree the price and sign the MOU
On a resold contract, ask the developer's transfer fee at this point, not when the papers reach the developer.
- 03
Arrange the mortgage, if any
Plan a 20% Down Payment as an expatriate or 15% as a UAE national, and book the bank valuation early.
- 04
Transfer, or move the contract
A finished home transfers once the 2% transfer fee is paid. A contract moves into your name after the developer issues its No Objection Certificate.
Keep looking
Al Reem in detail, and the budgets either side
Island and community pages, the ceilings next door, off plan in range and the calculators.
The ceilings either side of this one
Al Reem Island in detail
The mainland side of the list
Off plan at this ceiling
Do the arithmetic yourself
Questions buyers ask at this level
Questions about apartments under AED 1.5 million in Abu Dhabi
Short answers, using the figures on this page.
Twenty five on our list today: ten studios, thirteen one bedrooms and two two bedrooms, across ten areas. Eleven are on Al Reem Island. Another 36 projects reach the same ceiling off plan.
Yes, six, in City of Lights, Shams Abu Dhabi, Vista 3, Marina Square and Tamouh. They start at AED 1,000,000 for 642 sq ft and run to AED 1,316,000 for 821 sq ft. Below AED 1 million, every Al Reem home we hold is a studio.
On floor area, yes. Studios on this list average about AED 2,020 a sq ft and one bedrooms about AED 1,540. In City of Lights, AED 175,000 more moves you from a 424 sq ft studio to a 642 sq ft one bedroom.
They cost about the same and buy different things. The Al Reem studios start at AED 825,000 for 424 sq ft. For AED 900,000 Al Reef Downtown has an 836 sq ft one bedroom, and Al Ghadeer 652 sq ft for AED 700,000. One buys the address, the other a door you can close.
Yes, one home: a 320 sq ft studio at Nouran Living for AED 1,150,000. That is about AED 3,594 a sq ft, the steepest rate on this page. No Saadiyat home on our list is priced under AED 1 million, so this step is what brings the island in.
Island rates are too high for the size. Both two bedrooms here are on the mainland: 1,042 sq ft in Al Ghadeer at AED 950,000 and 1,140 sq ft in Al Reef Downtown at AED 1,200,000. At the lowest island rate we hold, about AED 1,488 a sq ft, 1,042 sq ft would cost over AED 1.5 million.
Two very different homes. On Al Reem Island, a 493 sq ft one bedroom in Vista 3. In Al Reef Downtown, a 1,140 sq ft two bedroom, the largest home on this page. Same money, one more bedroom and more than twice the floor area off the island.
Roughly AED 277,000 for an expatriate buyer taking a loan. The biggest part is AED 240,000, the 20% Down Payment. The transfer fee adds AED 24,000, the loan set up about AED 9,600 and the valuation about AED 3,000. A cash buyer pays AED 1,224,000. A resold contract also carries the developer's fee.
Not the Golden Visa property route: the UAE government portal lists AED 2 million, and this list stops at AED 1,316,000. A two year property investor residence is published at AED 750,000, and 21 of the 25 homes clear it on price. It needs a title deed, which a contract lacks until handover. Confirm your case with the authorities.
A contract on a home not yet handed over, sold on by its first buyer. You agree a figure with them, the developer approves you and issues a No Objection Certificate, and you carry the instalments left. Thirteen of the 25 apartments here are exactly that.
One list, sent by a person
Tell us what matters more: the bedroom, the size or the island
Name the size you need and the parts of Al Reem or the mainland you would consider. We send today's homes in range with the size, the rate per sq ft and the type of sale.
- 25Apartments on the list today
- 13One bedrooms among them
- 11On Al Reem Island
MASTERPIECE PROPERTY
Want Us to Call You?
Leave your number and a property consultant will reach out to you personally
Average response time: under 2 minutes