A look at real estate trends and what’s to come on Saadiyat Island, home of Louvre Abu Dhabi

  ABU DHABI – Living adjacent to the Louvre Abu Dhabi will cost you, but maybe not as much as you think. The island already plays hosts to professors and students at NYU-Abu Dhabi, visiting sea turtles and dolphins off its turquoise coastline, and PGA-ranked golfers at Saadiyat Beach Club. But Egyptian relics, Rembrandts, and Van Goghs are a different story. The island is certainly not Paris, but with its new museum, the island takes a big leap forward to becoming the cultural hub its developer, TDIC, envisions. Real estate portal Propertyfinder Group analysed its search and price data through the first half of 2017 to see what it costs to call the Louvre Abu Dhabi a neighbour.

Expensive neighbouring areas

The nearest communities to the Louvre Abu Dhabi – which include the Residences at St. Regis Saadiyat, Saadiyat Beach Residences, and Saadiyat Beach Villas, fetch the highest property prices in the capital. But ten more minutes in the car, and there are bargains to be had nearby.

Bargain properties on Saadiyat Island

In the first half of 2017, Saadiyat Island apartments saw a 6.1 percent decline and were unseated as Abu Dhabi’s most expensive to buy. Renting is a different story. The island community bucked the trend of declining prices, and apartments on Saadiyat are Abu Dhabi’s most expensive, with a 3.9 percent increase, asking Dh106 per square foot per annum. Saadiyat Island is Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC)’s flagship project. Development on the 27-square kilometre island, which lies 500 metres off Abu Dhabi’s coast. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is part of TDIC’s US$27 billion tourist and cultural development for Saadiyat Island, a complex which is planned to include three other museums, including a Guggenheim Museum, and the Zayed National Museum. Still, rents continue to decline in Abu Dhabi overall, where a reduction in government spending in direct correlation to sluggish oil prices has reduced employment and demand for housing in the capital. Perhaps a world-class museum on a stunning coastline will entice new residents, and spur an Abu Dhabi Renaissance. “If you build it,” as they say…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