Abu Dhabi Completes Its First Off-Plan Mortgage Registration Under Adrec's New Framework

Aldar and ADCB have registered Abu Dhabi's first off-plan mortgage under Adrec's new framework, open to buyers who have already paid 50% of the price.

A single mortgage registration is not usually news. This one is, because of what it establishes. On 4 September, Aldar and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank confirmed the first mortgage registered under the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre's new off-plan framework, which allows a financing bank to be formally recorded on the mortgage certificate before the property is handed over. The buyer must already have paid 50% of the purchase price; the lender then funds the remaining instalments and the completion payment.

The threshold comes from the central bank

The 50% requirement is not Adrec's invention. UAE Central Bank regulation sets it as the point at which a customer qualifies for off-plan mortgage financing. What Adrec has added is the registration step — the mechanism by which the bank's interest is recorded against a property that is still under construction, rather than only once title transfers. Ghazi Saeed Alateibi, Adrec's executive director, said the completed registration "demonstrates Adrec's off-plan mortgage registration service in live market use", language that suggests the framework had been published but untested until now.

Six lenders are already in the channel

Aldar routes buyers through Home Finance by Aldar, which connects to Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Faisal Falaknaz, Aldar's chief financial officer, framed the change as "an important step in further enhancing the transparency and accessibility of the market". Neither company disclosed loan-to-value terms, pricing, or how many registrations are in the pipeline behind this first one.

Why it lands on the largest part of the market

Off-plan accounted for 89% of Abu Dhabi's residential sales value in the first half of 2026, on Adrec's own figures, and the emirate's total transaction value reached AED 155bn between January and August against AED 142bn for all of 2025. A financing mechanic that only applies to unbuilt stock therefore applies to the large majority of what is actually being sold, in a market that has already passed its full-2025 total with four months of the year still to run.

What it does not resolve

Registration before handover changes who holds recorded security; it does not change construction risk, delivery dates, or the price paid. Glopra's data puts Abu Dhabi at $4,826 per square metre with a gross rental yield of 5.76% and twelve-month price growth of 20.24%, and our bubble-risk score for the emirate is 78 out of 100, in the elevated band. Easier financing on a market moving at 20% a year works in both directions: it lowers the cash barrier to entry, and it lets buyers commit further ahead of completion than they otherwise could. Anyone weighing that trade-off should look at their own payment schedule rather than the headline, and take advice specific to their circumstances.

Sources: Khaleej Times, 4 Sep 2026 https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/aldar-adcb-complete-abu-dhabis-first-off-plan-mortgage-under-new-adrec-framework; Aldar and ADCB press release via Zawya, 4 Sep 2026 https://www.zawya.com/en/press-release/aldar-and-adcb-complete-abu-dhabis-first-off-plan-mortgage-under-new-adrec-framework-478144; Khaleej Times (Adrec transaction data), 3 Sep 2026 https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/abu-dhabi-property-deals-top-dh155-billion-beat-2025s-full-year-total-in-8-months

Market data: Abu Dhabi · Ras Al Khaimah · United Arab Emirates · Dubai