Al Reem Island

Al Reem Island is a natural island off the north-eastern tip of Abu Dhabi, connected by bridge to the city and to Al Maryah Island, and developed as the capital’s densest residential district. In April 2024 Abu Dhabi Global Market extended its jurisdiction to Al Reem Island, placing it within the same common-law financial free zone as Al Maryah. Buyers are professionals working in ADGM and the city, investors seeking rental demand, and international clients who want a city apartment with water views at an Abu Dhabi price.

Why buyers choose Al Reem Island

Convenience and the ADGM effect. Al Reem Island is a few minutes from the ADGM towers, the Galleria and Cleveland Clinic on Al Maryah, and the Corniche beyond. The 2024 jurisdiction change brought companies and their staff onto the island and lifted both occupier and investor demand; in the first half of 2025 it was the highest-selling residential location in Abu Dhabi. For a Dubai-based buyer, Al Reem Island is the Abu Dhabi equivalent of a DIFC-adjacent apartment: a lock-and-leave city home, freehold for all nationalities, around 75 to 90 minutes from Dubai.

What’s available: homes and price context

Al Reem Island is overwhelmingly apartments, from one-bedroom homes in the established Shams Abu Dhabi and Marina Square districts to large waterfront penthouses and a smaller number of townhouses and villas in Reem Hills. At the top of the market, the homes that interest Renaissance clients are the full-floor and duplex penthouses, sea-facing apartments in the better-managed towers and the Reem Hills villas. Average prices on the island rose by around a tenth in the year after the ADGM announcement; treat any figure as approximate, since tower, floor and view vary widely.

New developments and off-plan in Al Reem Island

Renaissance does not currently present a developer launch on Al Reem Island. We advise on resale and off-market homes here, principally penthouses and large waterfront apartments above AED 5M, and on selected Reem Hills villas. The island continues to see new launches from several developers, and our advisors review them as they come; when one meets our criteria for design, position and developer track record, it joins the collection.

Living in Al Reem Island

Residents have Reem Central Park, a beach at Reem Island’s northern end, the Boutik and Shams malls, Repton School Abu Dhabi and Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi on the island itself. The Galleria’s dining and luxury retail on Al Maryah Island is five minutes away, the Corniche ten, Saadiyat’s beaches and museums around fifteen, and Zayed International Airport roughly thirty. The trade-off is density: Al Reem Island is a tower district, and the quality of the building and its management matters more here than anywhere else in Abu Dhabi.

What to prioritise

Building first, view second. On Al Reem Island, the gap between a well-run tower and a tired one is visible in service charges, lobby condition and resale liquidity, so our advisors look at the owners’ association and maintenance history before the apartment itself. Then prioritise open water or skyline views that cannot be built out; several plots on the island remain undeveloped. Understand the ADGM legal framework too: freehold title on Al Reem Island is now registered through ADGM’s registration authority rather than solely through ADREC, which is a benefit for international buyers familiar with common-law systems but worth having explained properly. Finally, think about exit: penthouses and rare formats hold value; generic mid-floor stock is plentiful.

How Renaissance advises on Al Reem Island

Renaissance works only above AED 5M and advises in Abu Dhabi by appointment. For Al Reem Island, a client receives a dedicated advisor who sources resale and off-market penthouses and waterfront apartments vetted by our advisors, compares them with Al Maryah and Saadiyat alternatives and handles the registration process under ADGM. We are candid when a home on Al Reem Island is not the right purchase, and we will say so.

Al Reem Island: questions buyers ask