Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec) has officially switched on its framework for registering mortgages against off-plan homes — units still under construction. A buyer who has paid 50% or more of the unit price can now arrange a bank mortgage before handover, rather than after. The first transaction under the new procedure was closed by Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB); five more banks are queued behind it, including ADIB, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Adrec is the real-estate regulator for the emirate of Abu Dhabi, running the property registers and licensing developers. According to Adrec, quoted by The National, the technical capability to register mortgage interests against off-plan units has been in place since March 2026; the summer of 2026 was spent aligning with banks and developers on how a mortgagee's interest is formally acknowledged before keys change hands. The first live registration closed in early September 2026, once all procedural conditions were met.
What the new framework actually changes
Until now, an Abu Dhabi buyer could take out a mortgage only on a completed home — at the moment of handover. Every off-plan stage payment (typically 5-15% every few months) was funded by the buyer directly, out of their own money or through the developer's in-house payment plan. Under the new framework Adrec records the mortgage interest in the Initial Real Estate Register — the preliminary register that captures off-plan units — while construction is still ongoing. Entry condition: the buyer has paid at least 50% of the price. From that point the bank is formally recorded on the mortgage registration certificate before handover.
In practice this gives a UAE property investor a confirmed source of funding for future stage payments, a clearer financial plan and lower liquidity risk in the late stages of construction. "Buyers will now be able to purchase off-plan with greater confidence in the source of funds for future instalments — that simplifies financial planning," Matthew Green, head of research at CBRE Middle East and North Africa, told The National. He added that constraints — the 50% threshold and the current perimeter of approved banks and developers — remain, and the framework will scale gradually.
Aldar and ADCB — the first transaction
The first off-plan mortgage under the Adrec framework was closed by Aldar Properties, the emirate's largest developer, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). Faisal Falaknaz, Aldar's chief financial and sustainability officer, described it as "an important step by Adrec in strengthening the transparency and accessibility of the market". Aldar has connected an in-house advisory service that routes buyers to six banks: ADCB, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB). Some run classic mortgage products, others operate through Islamic financing.
The entry threshold for Aldar clients is the same 50% paid up on projects that are inside the Adrec framework. As other major Abu Dhabi developers connect, the availability of off-plan mortgages will widen.
What the market numbers say
According to Adrec data, Abu Dhabi real-estate transactions totalled Dh117 billion in H1 2026 — up 112% year on year. Transaction volume rose 61.7% to 16,838. Within residential sales, off-plan captured 89% of the Dh70.4 billion ($19 billion) residential total. The mortgage market grew by a third: 8,876 deals worth Dh26.7 billion.
Knight Frank estimates the Abu Dhabi residential pipeline over 2026-2030 at around 36,900 units — 66% apartments, 33% villas and 1% serviced apartments. Against that backdrop, launching off-plan mortgages under the Adrec framework is a direct regulatory response to actual demand: if nine of every ten residential sales are for units still under construction, the financing mechanism during construction cannot be the market bottleneck.
What buyers and investors should consider
For an investor also planning to use off-plan with a mortgage toward the AED 2 million Golden Visa threshold, the important point is that mortgage registration is only half the story — the bank also has to issue a No-Objection Certificate for the visa route. The two tracks are independent, and it is unhelpful to conflate them: the Adrec framework solves the financing question, not the immigration one. Practical steps: confirm the project is on Adrec's approved list, check the partner bank (the perimeter is still limited today), verify that your 50% is paid and reflected in the SPA — only then move to the off-plan-mortgage application.
The market shift was framed by Andrew Laver, Cavendish Maxwell's director in Abu Dhabi: "Recording mortgage interests in the Initial Real Estate Register before completion delivers greater transparency and protection for buyers, banks and developers." Farooq Syed, chief executive of Springfield Properties, said the framework broadens developers' base of qualified buyers and reduces the risk that a purchaser hits liquidity problems near the end of construction.
Sources: Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (Adrec), The National (13 September 2026, Fareed Rahman) and Khaleej Times (4 September 2026, Waheed Abbas).
