Waterfront property is no longer a Dubai story. September data from Property Finder shows asking prices rising across all four emirates, with Abu Dhabi posting the sharpest year-on-year gain of any market at 21.11 per cent and Sharjah’s total asking-value footprint expanding 80.51 per cent over the same period.
The premium attached to a waterfront address varies considerably by emirate. On Palm Jumeirah, the typical asking price of AED 9 million runs to four times Dubai’s emirate-wide figure of AED 2.25 million.
On Saadiyat Island, AED 5.65 million compares with AED 2.73 million across Abu Dhabi as a whole. At Sharjah Waterfront City, home to Ajmal Makan City, the typical asking price of around AED 3 million sits roughly 60 per cent above the Sharjah average of AED 1.85 million. On Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, AED 2.6 million represents around a 24 per cent premium over the emirate-wide figure of AED 2.1 million.
Dubai holds the headline numbers. The Crescent on Palm Jumeirah recorded an average sale price of AED 22.2 million, up 39.78 per cent year on year, while Signature Villas on the Palm averaged AED 78 million.
The emirate’s five leading waterfront locations carried more than 20,000 listings between them and a total asking-value footprint of AED 1,129.7 billion, with an emirate-wide average price growth of 7.14 per cent.
Abu Dhabi’s 21 per cent price growth is the strongest of any emirate, driven in part by Saadiyat Island, where listings rose 13 per cent to an average of AED 5.7 million. Yas Acres on Yas Island posted 7.22 per cent growth, while Al Hudayriat Island fell 34.4 per cent, a sharp divergence within the same market.
Sharjah is making a case for waterfront living at accessible price points. Ajmal Makan City averaged AED 3 million with 21.28 per cent growth, while Al Majaz – where typical asking prices sit at AED 870,000 – posted 16 per cent growth. Al Khan Lagoon and Al Mamzar rose 12.33 per cent and 7.41 per cent respectively.
Ras Al Khaimah presents a more mixed picture. Al Marjan Island, which has more than 5,600 listings, saw average prices fall 8.76 per cent to AED 2.6 million. Al Hamra Village and Mina Al Arab edged up 5 per cent and 2.86 per cent respectively. The emirate’s overall average price growth came in at -6.25 per cent despite a 44.39 per cent expansion in total asking value – a sign of more stock entering the market rather than prices retreating uniformly. One outlier: Treasure Island on Al Marjan Island, where 14 listings averaged AED 247.5 million each, up 164.71 per cent year on year.
Cherif Sleiman, Chief Revenue Officer at Property Finder, provided the analysis. Data covers the period September 1–30, 2026, compared with the same month in 2025.
“Looking ahead, we expect waterfront development to remain a key driver of growth across the country. Dubai will continue to set the standard at the top of the market, Abu Dhabi is seeing the strongest price momentum of any emirate, Sharjah is proving that waterfront living can combine strong growth with accessible prices, and Ras Al Khaimah is building resort communities at real scale. As more high net worth individuals choose to make the UAE their home, the waterfront will remain one of the most important engines of growth, tourism and investment for every emirate and for the country as a whole,” he said in a statement.
