Kuwait Real Estate Company’s development with IFA Hotels & Resorts is moving through construction as Sharjah records AED 46.8 billion in property transactions during the first nine months of 2026.
Kuwait Real Estate Company, known as AQARAT, is advancing its Al Tay Hills residential development in Sharjah, bringing a 1,100-home project into the construction pipeline of an emirate where housing continues to account for most property sales.
Developed in partnership with IFA Hotels & Resorts, the scheme forms a substantial part of AQARAT’s UAE expansion. Its first phase remains targeted for delivery in 2028, according to the company’s August investor update, with infrastructure works and major construction contracts marking the next stages of development.
The project is progressing against a broader increase in Sharjah’s property activity. Figures released in October show that real estate transactions across the emirate reached AED 46.8 billion in the first nine months of 2026. For developers building large residential communities, the figures provide a measure of market activity as new homes move from launch announcements towards delivery.
From launch to construction
Al Tay Hills was launched in January 2025 with a stated project cost of AED 3.5 billion. Covering more than six million square feet, it was planned as a three-phase development combining villas and townhouses with gardens, services and community facilities.
The scale makes it a neighbourhood development rather than an individual residential building. At launch, IFA Hotels & Resorts chairman Khaled Esbaitah described a programme encompassing infrastructure as well as housing, with implementation spread across three phases.
That distinction matters for understanding the construction timetable. Delivering a residential community involves preparing the services and shared spaces that support the homes, alongside constructing the properties themselves. Progress on underground utilities therefore represents one component of a wider delivery programme.
AQARAT’s first-half presentation reported that Al Tay Hills was 7% complete overall at the end of the second quarter of 2026, while deep utilities works had reached 99.6%. Contracts for electrical works and precast structures covering the 1,100 homes had also been awarded.
The company reported that 99% of the development was pre-sold. That figure describes sales commitments, rather than completed homes or handovers, with the first-phase delivery target still set for 2028.
A residential market with a widening development pipeline
The latest Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department figures, reported by Emirates News Agency, show that the value of property transactions rose 5.6% during the first nine months of 2026, compared with the corresponding period a year earlier.
The department recorded 91,560 transactions across its services, an increase of 14%. Within that total, sales transactions numbered 24,749 and represented AED 35 billion in trading value across 216 areas.
Residential property accounted for 80.5% of sales transactions, underlining the importance of housing within the emirate’s wider property economy. Industrial and commercial properties made up most of the remainder.
Development activity also continued to broaden. Twenty-two new real estate projects were registered during the nine-month period across residential, industrial and commercial uses.
Those figures establish the wider setting for Al Tay Hills without implying that every district or development is experiencing the same demand. Sharjah’s transaction totals cover a range of locations, property types and transaction categories, while the performance of an individual project depends on its own sales and construction progress.
A community planned around shared space
The official Al Tay Hills project website sets out a housing mix spanning townhouses, twin villas, private villas and mansions. Its master plan centres on landscaped open space, including a planted corridor described by the developers as a “green river”.
IFA’s project description also identifies running and cycling routes, community centres, sports facilities and a mosque among the planned amenities. These remain elements of the development plan, rather than evidence of facilities already in operation.
For a scheme of this size, shared infrastructure is part of the housing proposition itself. The arrangement of homes, outdoor areas and community facilities will determine how the completed neighbourhood functions, beyond the layout of individual properties.
The project’s location between Sharjah and Dubai is another part of its positioning. However, the relevance of that location to future residents will depend on their destinations and daily travel patterns, rather than the travel-time estimates commonly used in property marketing.
Sharjah’s changing buyer base
Independent research provides further context for the development. In its first-quarter 2026 Sharjah residential market report, Savills recorded investors from 113 nationalities, compared with 97 in the same period of 2025.
The consultancy linked the widening buyer base to ownership reforms and Sharjah’s relative value compared with Dubai. It characterised the market as predominantly driven by end users and affordability, while also noting a more cautious environment during March.
That combination is relevant to the way large housing projects are assessed. A market attracting a broader range of buyers still needs homes that meet practical residential requirements, alongside the investment interest reflected in transaction figures.
For Al Tay Hills, the next measurable developments are construction milestones and the eventual transition to phased handovers. AQARAT’s published timetable gives the project a 2028 first-phase target, creating a defined delivery horizon against which subsequent updates can be assessed.
A broader UAE programme
Al Tay Hills sits alongside other UAE activity outlined in AQARAT’s August investor disclosures. In Dubai, the company reported that its Domus 5 hospitality staff accommodation project had reached 91% completion, with finishing and fit-out work continuing.
AQARAT also disclosed a land investment in Abu Dhabi in partnership with IFA Hotels & Resorts, adding another location to its development pipeline.
These projects serve different parts of the property market: homes for sale in Sharjah, staff accommodation in Dubai and land for future development in Abu Dhabi. Together, they show the range of AQARAT’s UAE activities, while Al Tay Hills remains its largest residential development to date.
For the Sharjah project, the immediate focus is the work between those two stages: a largely pre-sold development and the delivery of its first completed homes.
