Research Methodology
How Ayman Sadieh Research collects, classifies, calculates, interprets and publishes Abu Dhabi real estate market information.
The Rules Behind Every Published Market Claim
The objective is not to make every data source look identical. It is to preserve what each source actually measures, separate fact from calculation, and clearly label professional interpretation.
Source First
Every market metric should have a traceable source, reporting period and definition before it is published.
Definitions Stay Intact
Registered transactions, developer sales, asking prices, achieved prices and pipeline estimates are not treated as interchangeable.
Calculations Are Labelled
Metrics created by Ayman Research from published values are explicitly identified as calculated rather than source-reported.
Analysis Is Separate
Interpretation by Ayman Sadieh is clearly separated from official, institutional or developer-reported facts.
Which Sources Take Priority?
Sources are grouped by what they can reliably establish. A lower-tier source is not automatically unusable; it simply supports a different type of claim.
Official / Regulatory
ADREC, DMT, ADGM, UAE government entities and other competent authorities. Preferred for registered transactions, regulations, official market reports and government policy.
Developer Reported
Official developer websites, financial results, investor presentations and direct project disclosures. Used for project facts, launch information, sales and developer pipeline data.
Institutional Research
Established real estate research providers such as Knight Frank, JLL, CBRE and Savills. Used for market context, pricing studies, pipeline analysis and comparative research.
Marketplace Evidence
Property portals such as Bayut and Property Finder. Useful for asking-price context, advertised inventory and marketplace demand signals, but not treated as registered transaction evidence.
NAS / Ayman Observation
First-party observations from active listings, buyers, owners, negotiations and transactions. Published only when clearly labelled as market observation rather than emirate-wide fact.
Calculated by Ayman Research
Derived metrics created from approved source values. The underlying values and formula should be reproducible.
How Published Data Is Labelled
| Label | Meaning | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Official | Directly reported by a competent government or regulatory source. | Registered transactions, leases, mortgage values, regulations. |
| Developer | Directly disclosed by the relevant developer or project operator. | Project details, sales, launch prices, handover information. |
| Institutional | Published by an established market research provider. | Pricing trends, comparative research, construction pipeline. |
| Marketplace | Derived from active portal listings or marketplace datasets. | Asking-price context and advertised inventory. |
| Calculated | Derived by Ayman Research from cited source values. | Shares, growth rates, concentration measures. |
| Market Observation | First-party NAS or Ayman evidence that is not claimed as marketwide fact. | Buyer behaviour, negotiation patterns, active inventory observations. |
| Review Hold | Potentially useful data whose definition, denominator or scope is not sufficiently reconciled. | Not published as an independent claim until clarified. |
One “Property Price” Can Mean Several Different Things
Achieved Transaction Price
A price supported by registered transaction evidence. This is kept separate from advertised or launch pricing.
Launch / Current Developer Price
The developer’s published sales price at launch or at the time of review. It may not equal a later resale or registered transaction.
Resale Asking Price
The price advertised by a seller or agent. Asking price is treated as an offer to the market, not proof of achieved value.
Asking price, launch price and achieved transaction price are never silently combined into one price series. Where comparison is useful, each category is identified separately.
Different Supply Numbers Answer Different Questions
Existing Stock
Homes already completed and forming part of the current residential base.
Under Construction
Units currently being built within a defined research period.
Projected Incremental Supply
Expected additional stock over a future period. This can be broader than units already under construction.
Announced / Masterplan Capacity
Longer-term announced capacity that may not yet be under construction and may change over time.
Directly Competing Supply
The property-level measure most relevant to an investment decision: comparable units likely to compete for buyers or tenants around the same handover and holding period.
How Ayman Research Creates Derived Indicators
Year-on-Year Change
(Current period − prior period) ÷ prior period × 100.
Market Share
Selected segment value ÷ relevant total market value × 100.
Combined Share
Sum of selected communities, projects or developers ÷ the relevant market total.
Calculated metrics must preserve the same period, geography, segment and unit across numerator and denominator. If the source bases are not directly comparable, the calculation is not published as a clean market statistic.
How We Decide Whether a Number Is Ready to Publish
Official / Direct
Clear definition, clear period and primary source. Suitable for direct publication with attribution.
Institutional / Developer
Strong source with a defined methodology or direct corporate disclosure. Suitable with source context.
Reproducible
Built from approved source values with a transparent formula. Published as calculated, not source-reported.
Needs Reconciliation
Definition, denominator, time period or scope is unclear. Kept out of independent claims until resolved.
How Research Pages Stay Current
Period and Review Date Are Separate
A page may analyse H1 2026 while being reviewed later. The market period and the last-reviewed date are therefore shown separately.
Historical Figures Keep Their Period Label
When a new quarter is added, earlier figures are not silently relabelled as current.
Source Revisions Can Replace Older Values
If an official source revises a dataset, the research page may be updated to reflect the revised source rather than preserving an outdated rounded figure.
Material Errors Are Corrected
If a source, definition or calculation is found to be incorrect, the published figure should be corrected rather than defended for consistency.
Questions About the Methodology
Does Ayman Sadieh Research use asking prices as transaction prices?
No. Asking prices, developer prices and achieved or registered transaction prices are treated as separate categories.
What is considered an official source?
A competent government, regulator or public authority directly responsible for the relevant data or rule. For Abu Dhabi real estate research, this may include entities such as ADREC, DMT or ADGM depending on the subject.
Can third-party research be used?
Yes. Established institutional research can provide useful market context, but it remains labelled separately from official registered data.
How are Ayman Research calculations identified?
Derived metrics are labelled Calculated and should be reproducible from the cited source values.
Why can two credible supply reports show different numbers?
They may be measuring different concepts, such as under-construction units versus broader projected incremental supply. The methodology keeps those definitions separate rather than forcing them into one figure.
Is Ayman’s analysis the same as an official market classification?
No. Professional interpretation by Ayman Sadieh is labelled as analysis and is not presented as an official ADREC or government classification.
See the Methodology Applied to Abu Dhabi Market Data
The Market Observatory applies these standards to sales, off-plan activity, rentals, supply, community concentration and institutional price context.