Living in Masaar, Sharjah: Masaar 1, 2 and 3, schools, Masaar 3 prices and buying (2026)

Living in Masaar means living in a gated villa or townhouse community set among trees, on the quieter eastern edge of Sharjah. Masaar is Arada's family of forest communities: the original Masaar in the Suyoh district, and Masaar 2 and Masaar 3 next door in the Rowdat suburb.

See all projects and prices on our Masaar page. This guide adds what that page does not: how the three communities differ, what daily life is like, the schools, the drive times, what Masaar 3 costs today and how to buy there step by step.

It is written for families and buyers deciding whether Masaar fits the way they live. It gives no forecast for prices or rents, and it is not legal advice.

The original Masaar is in Suyoh, on Sharjah's eastern side, near Tilal City and the Sharjah Mosque, the emirate's largest mosque. It is reached from Emirates Road (E611) and Mleiha Road. Masaar 2 and Masaar 3 are next door in Rowdat, with direct access to Khorfakkan Road and easy access to Emirates Road.

Emirates Road is the main inland route between Dubai and the Northern Emirates, so it is also the road most residents use to reach Dubai. Arada's first project, Nasma Residences, and Al Suyoh Mall, which opened in December 2023, are close by.

Arada puts Sharjah International Airport about 15 minutes away by car, from both the original Masaar and Masaar 3. From Masaar 3 it gives about 2 minutes to Nasma Central Park, Tilal Mall and the Sharjah Mosque, about 15 minutes to the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) and the Sharjah Botanical Garden, and about 20 minutes to the Sharjah Corniche.

For Dubai International Airport, Arada gives about 20 minutes from the original Masaar and from Masaar 3 on its Masaar 3 page, and about 30 minutes from Masaar 3 in an April 2026 release.* All of these are off-peak. The crossings into Dubai are busiest at the morning and evening peaks, so drive the route at the times you would travel before you commit.

* The two Arada figures for Masaar 3 to Dubai International differ; we show both.

They are three neighbouring communities with the same idea, villas and townhouses in gated districts along a green spine of trees, built at different times and at different stages today.

Masaar, in Suyoh. The original community, launched in 2021: about 3,000 villas and townhouses on a 19 million sq ft master plan, valued by Arada at AED 9.5 billion. Its gated districts are linked by a green spine of more than 70,000 trees to a central community hub.* Homes run from two-bedroom townhouses to five-bedroom Forest Villas. In September 2024 Arada completed 986 homes in the Kaya and Robinia districts, taking the community to 50% complete; by April 2026 it reported more than 1,500 homes delivered, with the remaining homes due by the end of 2026.

Masaar 2, in Rowdat. A community of 1,997 homes in four phases on 10.5 million sq ft, with about 40,000 trees, a central green corridor and a swimmable forest lagoon. It launched in February 2025 and sold out within hours. In December 2025 Arada awarded construction contracts of AED 2.7 billion; first handovers are due in 2027 and completion is expected in mid-2028.

Masaar 3, in Rowdat. The largest: about 4,000 villas and townhouses in eight gated neighbourhoods across 21 million sq ft, with a green spine of 100,000 trees. Arada launched its first two phases in September 2025, released Layan, the fifth phase of 437 homes, in April 2026, and Dalia is its seventh phase. Arada places it between Masaar 2 and an education district that it says already has two large-scale schools.

* Arada's Masaar page gives more than 50,000 trees and seven gated communities; its 2024 and 2026 releases give more than 70,000 trees and six districts. We use the release figures.

Daily life is outdoors and close to home. The green spine is the backbone of each community, with paths that connect the gated districts to the shared facilities, and it is where residents walk, cycle and meet.

In the original Masaar, the central precinct has the Zad food truck district, a skatepark, a children's adventure playground and an events space. The Masaar Track is a 6.6 km looped cycling circuit, open 24 hours, with three lit underpasses and a bridge, and The Loop is a cycling hub with repairs, bike hire, kit and a café. Along the green spine there are football, tennis, basketball and padel courts.

Masaar 3 adds a swimmable central lagoon pool with landscaped waterfalls, a gym and café at the lagoon, an adventure playground and duck pond, a community centre with shops and restaurants, and the Zad food truck park. Each district has its own pools, including children's and women-only pools, basketball and padel courts and playgrounds. Arada says every Masaar 3 home has a private garden and smart-home features, and the gated districts have 24-hour security.

For bigger shopping, Al Suyoh Mall and Tilal Mall are a few minutes' drive, and Aljada's East Boulevard and the University City area are further west. The Sharjah Mosque is about 2 minutes from Masaar 3.

The school to know is Reigate Grammar School Masaar. Arada awarded the AED 183 million construction contract in March 2026 for a 16-month build, and the school is due to take its first pupils in September 2027.

It will be a K-12 school for 2,700 pupils with a British curriculum, developed with Bright Capital Investment, and the first branch campus of a UK school in Sharjah. The campus is on a 450,000 sq ft plot in Masaar's northern corner, near Masaar 2 and Masaar 3, with a performing arts centre, library, STEM centre, sports facilities and swimming pools.

Until then, families drive to schools elsewhere in Sharjah. The Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) publishes a directory of the emirate's private schools that you can filter by area (Suyoh is one of the areas listed), curriculum, annual fee range, grades and evaluation rating. Check places and fees for your children's year groups with each school before you buy.

Masaar is a car-based community. Sharjah has no Metro, so residents drive or take taxis, and the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) runs the emirate's public buses; check its current routes for stops near Suyoh and Rowdat.

Inside the community, the green spine and the Masaar Track make walking and cycling practical for short trips, and many families use them to reach the community hub and the courts. For school, work and shopping outside Masaar, plan on a car, and on two if both adults commute.

Masaar 3 prices depend on the phase, the home type and the number of bedrooms, and they change as Arada releases new phases. Rather than print prices that go out of date, the table below shows the Masaar projects we track today, with starting prices, payment plans and handover dates.

The phase we track in detail is Masaar 3 Dalia, the seventh phase of Masaar 3. Its project page lists prices from two-bedroom townhouses up to villas, home sizes, the payment plan and the scheduled completion date. For other phases, such as Layan, prices and availability are on request.

When you compare prices, compare like with like: a townhouse with a villa of the same bedroom count is a different product, and corner and park-facing plots are usually priced differently from mid-terrace ones. Ask for the price, plot size and built-up area of the exact unit.

Masaar 2 and the earlier Masaar 3 phases sold out at launch, so homes there are available only as resales from other owners. Browse other Sharjah villas and townhouses, or see what is new on our new launches page.

Arada sells Masaar homes as freehold. On 1 November 2022 the Sharjah Executive Council issued a decision allowing all nationalities to own real estate of all kinds, without time limit, in real estate development areas and projects, following Law No. 2 of 2022.

The permission attaches to the project rather than to a district, and the title is fixed unit by unit in the sale agreement and registration. Before 2022, non-GCC buyers in Sharjah could generally hold only usufruct, a long-term right to use a property, so make sure you know which title you are being offered.

Ask Arada to confirm in writing what title your nationality will hold on your unit. Our guide to whether foreigners can buy property in the UAE sets out Sharjah's rules beside those of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The process is the same as for any off-plan home in Sharjah, and the important checks come before the first payment.

1. Choose the phase and the home. Compare phases by handover date, payment plan and position: near the lagoon, the green spine, the school or the main roads. Ask for the plot size, built-up area, orientation and parking for the exact unit.

2. Confirm the title for your nationality. Get it in writing, as above.

3. Check registration and escrow. Off-plan projects in Sharjah must be registered with the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department before units are marketed, and each project needs its own escrow account, under Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2024. Ask Arada for the phase's registration and escrow details, and if in doubt contact the department before paying.

4. Reserve and sign the sale agreement. Read the clauses on the completion date and what happens if it moves, the specification, the garden and parking, community rules, and whether and when you can resell before completion.

5. Pay into the project account. Follow the payment plan and pay every instalment into the project's escrow account, never to an individual or an agency, and keep the receipts. Masaar 3 Dalia's plan, for example, puts most of the price on completion, so plan now for how you will pay or finance that final instalment. Our guide to off-plan payment plans explains how plans are structured.

6. Handover, snagging and title. At completion, inspect the home and garden, list defects before you accept it, settle the final payment and register the home in your name.

Costs fall into three groups: the price and payment plan, the government fees on purchase, and running costs once you move in. Prices and plans are in the table above and on the project page.

Registration fees in Sharjah are set by the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department and can depend on the buyer's nationality and the type of sale, so ask for the exact figure for your purchase before you sign. Ask too whether any administration charges apply, and who pays them.

Once you live there, budget for the community service charge, utilities and garden upkeep for a villa or townhouse, and school fees if you have children. Our guide to the true cost of buying off-plan lists the kinds of cost to plan for; it is written for Dubai, but the categories carry over. If you plan to borrow, ask your bank early whether it lends on the phase and at what stage; see our off-plan mortgage guide.

The ten-year Golden Visa for property investors is a federal scheme, and property worth at least AED 2 million can support an application. Check how your home's value is assessed, and whether an off-plan home counts, in our Golden Visa guide.

If you are unsure whether a forest suburb suits your family, renting a finished home in the original Masaar for a few months is a practical test before you commit to a Masaar 3 home that will take years to complete. More than 1,500 Masaar homes had been delivered by April 2026, so completed villas and townhouses exist to rent.

Use the time to try what matters most: the school run, the commute to work at peak hours, how far the shops are, and how much you actually use the trails, pools and courts. You will also see how a finished Masaar district looks and is run, which is the best guide to what a new phase will become.

Ask the landlord or agent how the lease is registered in Sharjah when you sign.

Masaar suits families who want a house with a garden, space for children to cycle and play inside a gated community, and a British school planned on the doorstep. It suits buyers who work in Sharjah, at the airport or the SAIF Zone, or in the parts of Dubai reached easily from Emirates Road.

It suits less well anyone who wants to walk to shops and restaurants on a main street, or who needs public transport. For that, compare apartments in our guide to living in Aljada. If you would rather build your own home, see our Tilal City guide, and for other villa communities along Emirates Road see Al Badie and Al Tay East.

1. Which Masaar. The original Masaar is nearly finished; Masaar 2 is under construction; Masaar 3 is still being released.
2. Title for your nationality. Written confirmation for your unit.
3. Registration and escrow. The phase's registration with the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department and its escrow account.
4. The plot. Size, orientation, what it faces and what is planned next to it.
5. Dates. The scheduled completion and what the agreement says if it moves.
6. The final payment. How you will fund the instalment on completion.
7. Running costs. The service charge estimate for the community.
8. The journey. Drive to work, school and the airport at the times you would travel.

Green spine. The tree-lined central park that runs through each Masaar community and links the gated districts to the shared facilities.

Phase. A release of homes within a community, such as Layan or Dalia in Masaar 3, each with its own prices, payment plan and completion date.

Escrow account. A bank account for a single project into which buyers' payments go, released to the developer as construction progresses.

Usufruct. A right to use and benefit from a property for a set period, without owning it outright. It was the main option for non-GCC buyers in Sharjah before 2022.

Masaar is Sharjah's forest suburb: gated villas and townhouses among trees, trails and lagoons, a British school on the way, and Sharjah Airport about 15 minutes away. Life there is car-based and family-focused.

If you are looking at Masaar 3, check today's prices in the table above and on our Masaar 3 Dalia page, confirm the title and registration in writing, and plan for the final payment. See every project on our Masaar page.