The master developer of Saadiyat Island, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), has placed 70 apartments for sale from the second phase of its Saadiyat Beach Residences project.

The flats, which have one to four bedrooms, go on the market today. Prices start at Dh1.4 million.

“Our decision to release apartments for sale at Saadiyat Beach Residences for the first time has been driven by the high demand that our residences have seen,” said Ahmed Al Fahim, the executive director of marketing, communications, sales and leasing at TDIC.

“We saw similar demand earlier this year for Saadiyat Beach Villas’ third phase, where 80 per cent of the newly launched off-plan project was sold in a period just under four months.

“We believe that our high-quality products are very desirable today because they offer an investment opportunity that will appreciate and promise high returns in the future.”

Earlier this year, TDIC sold 285 apartments — the entire first phase of the Saadiyat Beach Residences project — to a joint venture of the United States-based property investor Pramerica and Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s state investment fund.

Under the terms of the sale, the property is subject to a five-year leaseback to TDIC, which will continue to manage the leasing.

A Tasweek report yesterday named Saadiyat Beach as one of the higher-end areas in Abu Dhabi where the best deals can be found. Other areas include Raha Beach, Al Bandar and Al Bateen.

The report shows a spike in residential rates in the capital during the third quarter, the first since the market downturn in 2008.

In Dubai, land and property sales rose 67 per cent in the same period, according to the report.

gduncan@thenational.ae