Hudayriyat Island is the most talked-about address in Abu Dhabi right now, and for once the noise is justified. But there is a lot of information circulating that simply is not correct, so let me do what I do on every project I look at: strip out the hype, lay out the facts, and tell you where the risk sits.

Where Hudayriyat Island is, and why that matters

Hudayriyat sits off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi, directly opposite Al Bateen, connected to the mainland by the Hudayriyat Bridge. You are roughly 15 to 20 minutes from the city centre, 25 to 30 minutes from the airport, and about an hour and twenty from Dubai. Bus routes serve the island as well.

That proximity is the whole story. This is not a remote island that needs a ferry and a plan. It is a bridge crossing from central Abu Dhabi, which is why people already use it every weekend.

The scale is hard to overstate. Modon’s masterplan spans more than 51 million square metres — equivalent to 53.8% of the size of Abu Dhabi Island itself — and adds over 50 kilometres of coastline and around 16 kilometres of beach to the city.

What is already built (this is the part people underestimate)

Most off-plan buyers are asked to imagine a masterplan. On Hudayriyat, you can go and stand in it this afternoon. The lifestyle infrastructure was delivered first, deliberately, and it is open and operating:

• Surf Abu Dhabi — a world-class artificial wave facility
• Velodrome Abu Dhabi — an indoor UCI Category 1 track with a 600-metre rooftop circuit
• Trail X — 15 kilometres of mountain biking across four difficulty grades
• OCR Park — the UAE’s largest permanent obstacle course, plus Circuit X for skate, BMX and high ropes
• 321Sports — football pitch, athletics track, courts and a yoga studio
• Around 220 kilometres of cycle track, the Marsana waterfront promenade, the 5.5 km Heritage Trail, Bab Al Nojoum glamping, and 16 km of beaches with free public access

For an investor, that sequencing matters more than any brochure. Demand on an island is driven by whether people want to be there, and Hudayriyat solved that before it started selling homes. The beaches, the restaurants and the parks already pull traffic across the bridge every weekend.

Who is Modon Properties?

Modon is the master developer of the island, and its ownership is the strongest single signal on this whole investment.

In October 2025, International Holding Company sold its entire 42.54% stake in Modon Holding, and following that transaction L’imad Holding Company — which is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government — holds 84.76% of Modon. In plain terms: the developer behind this island is majority-owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. That is about as solid a backing as an off-plan buyer in this market can ask for.

Modon Holding is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, so its accounts are public. Beyond Hudayriyat, the group develops on Reem Island in Abu Dhabi and holds international assets including Ras El Hekma in Egypt and La Zagaleta in Spain, alongside hospitality, events and asset management divisions.

What I care about more is the delivery record on this island. The Nawayef collections — Park Views, Village, Homes and Mansions — and Al Naseem showed what this developer builds when nobody was queueing yet. I remember when you could walk into the Modon sales centre in Abu Dhabi, sit down with a coffee, and discuss Nawayef East and West in peace. Everybody wanted one; not many people got one. Those days are gone.

The clearest proof came with Wadeem, the island’s first residential plots community: more than 1,700 plots, sold out within 72 hours of launch.

The investment case for Hudayriyat Island

• Freehold to all nationalities — you own the property outright, not a leasehold interest
• Purchases from AED 2 million qualify the buyer for a 10-year renewable Golden Visa
• Modon indicates rental yields in the 6–8% range on the island, with strong capital appreciation reported through 2025
• Supply is controlled by a single master developer, so the pipeline is coordinated rather than chaotic
• Several communities complete before the newest launches hand over, meaning residents, footfall and a working community — and people are what determine price

Treat yield and appreciation figures as developer guidance, not a promise. Markets move, and anyone quoting you guaranteed returns on off-plan is selling, not advising.

Note the two size columns, because this trips people up: the figures published by Modon are plot sizes, while the smaller numbers are built-up area. Both are correct; they measure different things, and your price per square foot changes completely depending on which one is used.

These are not small, pokey villas with rooms squeezed into tight spaces — the footprints and plots are genuinely generous, every villa has designated space for a pool, and buyers choose between two interior layouts (a larger rear kitchen and living space, or a bigger front majlis) and a modern or Arabic exterior. The community adds a 2.3 km climate-controlled spine, six clubhouses, an office park, healthcare, two international schools, cinemas, retail and a waterfront promenade.

Run the upgrade maths and the larger villas look like the better buy: the jump from four to five bedrooms costs roughly AED 1,740 per additional square foot, and five to six roughly AED 1,606 — both below the headline rate.

The 75% off-plan mortgage: how it actually works

This is the genuinely new part, and it is why the payment plan looks the way it does.

In July 2026, Modon and ADIB introduced Abu Dhabi’s first off-plan home financing solution, allowing eligible buyers to finance up to 75% of a property’s value during construction and through to handover. Before this, buying off-plan in Abu Dhabi meant funding the entire purchase out of pocket until you took the keys.

At Wadeem Gardens that translates into a 25/75 structure: you fund 25% plus the 2% fee across roughly four and a half years, and the bank funds 75% at the end.

So the cash you need is roughly AED 2.349M on the four-bed, AED 2.754M on the five-bed and AED 3.132M on the six-bed. In all my years I have not seen a payment plan weighted this heavily towards the bank. I spend most of my time explaining 60/40 and 80/20 plans — when it comes the other way around, it is almost a shock. There is also a reported 5% discount for Emirati buyers; confirm it on launch day.

Now the part that matters more than the headline.

• The mortgage is always subject to approval. Seventy-five per cent of this purchase depends on a bank saying yes several years from now. Pre-approval has been discussed for this project, meaning the amount can be provisionally agreed before you even submit an EOI — if you take one action from this article, make it that one.
• The front of the plan is heavy. Four payments plus the fee land inside the first 21 months. That is the window to stress test. The 28-month gap afterwards is a real gift, but you have to reach it.
• Prices typically move on launch day. Budget for a 3.5–4% increase and you will never be caught out.
• A 75% mortgage is only as good as the rate behind it. I stress test clients at 4%, 4.5%, 5% and 5.2% before they commit.
• Do not buy this purely as a flip. I believe there is very good uplift by 2031, with several communities complete and occupied by then — but if a broker tells you to “just pay the 25% and flip at the end”, treat that as a caution sign. Flipping is not what it used to be. Go in assuming you may need to complete.
• Service charges have not been announced yet, so leave room in your model.

My verdict

A government-owned developer, an island where the lifestyle infrastructure is already built and busy, freehold ownership, and now the first off-plan financing structure of its kind in Abu Dhabi. That combination did not exist here two years ago.

The way I sum it up: this is villa exposure at townhouse money. It opens the door for buyers who assumed a villa of this size was out of reach — end users primarily, though I can see exactly how an investor uses that mortgage to leverage and build a portfolio.

Just go in with your eyes open, not on hype. And remember nobody can promise you an allocation: Modon runs a proper EOI system, it is a fair playing field, and the earlier your EOI is logged, the better your chances.