Buyers who have paid 50% of an Aldar off-plan property can now secure a mortgage before the home is handed over.
Abu Dhabi has opened a new financing route for buyers of eligible off-plan properties, allowing them to register a mortgage before their homes are completed and handed over.
The first such mortgage registration has been completed on an Aldar Properties development with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), under a framework introduced by the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC).
Under the new arrangement, buyers who have already paid at least 50% of the value of an eligible off-plan property can mortgage the outstanding amount before construction is complete. The participating bank can then finance the buyer’s remaining instalments during construction, including the final payment due at handover.
The first completed registration marks a significant change in how off-plan property purchases can be financed in Abu Dhabi, giving eligible buyers access to mortgage funding before their homes are formally handed over.
How the New Off-Plan Mortgage Works
Previously, buyers of off-plan properties generally had to manage construction-stage instalments largely through their own funds until the property reached the stage at which conventional mortgage financing could be secured.
The new framework provides another option once a buyer has paid 50% of the property’s value.
After reaching that threshold, an eligible buyer can mortgage the outstanding portion of the property before completion. This means the lender can finance future instalments during the construction period instead of requiring the buyer to fund the entire remaining amount from cash.
The framework also gives the lender a formal interest in the property before handover, creating a clearer structure for the bank’s financing exposure during the construction phase.
Aldar and ADCB Complete First Registration
The first transaction was completed between Aldar Properties and ADCB.
Aldar is offering the financing route through Home Finance by Aldar, its in-house mortgage advisory service. The service is available to customers at no additional cost and provides access to mortgage products from more than six conventional and Islamic banks.
The participating lenders listed by Aldar include ADCB, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Buyers can access the service through the Live Aldar app and request a callback from the Home Finance by Aldar team.
What This Means for Off-Plan Buyers
The biggest potential benefit for buyers is earlier access to mortgage financing.
For someone who has already paid half of an eligible property’s value, being able to secure financing before completion could reduce the need to keep large amounts of cash available for future construction-stage instalments.
It may also give buyers greater visibility over their financing arrangements before handover rather than waiting until the property is completed to finalise a mortgage.
However, eligibility remains tied to the framework and individual lender requirements. Buyers will still need to meet the relevant bank’s lending and approval criteria.
Banks Get Greater Security Before Handover
The framework is also significant from a lender’s perspective.
By allowing mortgages to be registered before an off-plan property is completed, the arrangement provides banks with a formal legal interest in the property during the construction period.
That creates a clearer structure for financing an asset that has not yet been handed over and could provide additional protection for lenders in situations involving disputes or complications during the development process.
For developers, the system could also make off-plan purchases more accessible to buyers who may prefer to use bank financing rather than allocate all of their future instalments from personal funds.
A New Option for Abu Dhabi’s Off-Plan Market
Off-plan sales are an important part of Abu Dhabi’s property market, with buyers committing to homes before construction is completed and developers receiving payments throughout the development cycle.
The new mortgage framework introduces another layer of flexibility into that process.
Rather than treating mortgage financing as something that begins only after completion, eligible buyers can now bring banks into the transaction once they have contributed at least half of the property’s value.
The first registration involving Aldar and ADCB provides a working example of how the framework can operate in practice.
For buyers considering eligible Aldar off-plan properties, the option could make the timing of mortgage financing more flexible and reduce the amount of cash required to cover later construction-stage payments.
As Abu Dhabi continues to develop its real estate market, the new framework gives both buyers and lenders a more defined mechanism for financing off-plan properties before handover.
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Aldar and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank officials during the completion of Abu Dhabi’s first off-plan mortgage registration under the new Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre framework.
WAM
Source: Gulf News
