ALMAR Residences by Aurelian, Al Mouj — Freehold Apartments & Penthouses in Muscat, Oman

ALMAR Residences by Aurelian: 176 Freehold-Track Apartments in Al Mouj’s Marina Sector, Muscat

ALMAR Residences by Aurelian is a 176-residence waterfront building planned for the northern tip of Al Mouj, the master-planned coastal community on the Muscat coast. It rises as a basement, ground floor and ten storeys of apartments, duplex “Sunset Houses” and penthouses, set 100 metres from Azura Beach and 400 metres from Al Mouj Marina. The developer is Aurelian Development, appointed by Al Mouj Muscat as sub-developer for a premium residential project in the marina sector, according to Black & White Oman’s report of the agreement. The price list we hold is dated 1 October 2026 and starts at OMR 99,131 (about $257,820) for a one-bedroom apartment paid in full upfront, or OMR 101,853 (about $264,899) on the standard payment plan.

This is a pre-launch offer. The developer’s own schedule puts the start of enabling works in January 2027 and practical completion and handover in the second quarter of 2029, so a buyer today is committing to a building that has not yet broken ground. That is how most of the freehold market in Oman works, and it is why this page spends as much space on what you are protected by and what you should ask for as it does on the apartments themselves. Every figure below comes from the developer’s price list and brochure unless it says otherwise, and the places where we are inferring something are marked.

ALMAR at a Glance

The dollar figures on this page convert the developer’s rial prices at the peg of 2.6008 and are rounded. If you pay from a euro, sterling, zloty, rouble or rupee account, the amount you actually transfer will move with your currency against the dollar. We measured how much that mattered over the last five years in our guide to the Omani rial peg, and it is worth reading before you pick a payment schedule.

Ownership and Residency: What a Foreign Buyer Gets

ALMAR sits inside Al Mouj, which holds Integrated Tourism Complex status. An ITC purchase gives buyers of any nationality freehold title without an Omani sponsor; this is the same basis on which Azura Beach Residences and the other Al Mouj projects we list are sold. Our guide to freehold property in Oman explains the regime. As with any off-plan purchase, you should read the sale and purchase agreement for the title wording and registration steps that apply to this specific plot, because the brochure does not reproduce them.

Residency follows from ownership in two different ways, and the two should not be confused. First, ownership of a home supports the sponsor-free Owner Visa under Royal Oman Police Decision 87/2026, which sets no minimum property value, and an Investor Residency Card application. Second, the 10-year Golden Residency, relaunched in 2025 on the Invest Oman platform, requires real estate in an Integrated Tourism Complex worth at least OMR 200,000 in a single property. Our comparison of Golden Residency and the Owner Visa sets out both, and the official platform is Invest Oman.

Against that threshold, the price list gives a clean answer. Of the 36 residences priced in it, nine are at or above OMR 200,000: units 417, 416, 423, 426, 323, 326, 213, 412 and 102. All the one-bedroom apartments and most of the two-bedroom apartments are below it. One two-bedroom, unit 331 at OMR 199,368, misses by OMR 632, which is a good illustration of why you should confirm with the developer which price counts for the residency application (list price, discounted price, or the price net of any upfront reduction) before relying on a unit to qualify. Residency rules change, and we would not treat a marginal unit as qualifying on our word.

The Residences: Seven Layouts

The brochure sets out seven plans, with net sellable area (NSA, the usable interior) and gross sellable area (GSA, which adds balconies, terraces and a share of structure) given separately. The two numbers differ by a lot on the units with large terraces, so compare like with like.

Across the whole building the developer breaks the outlook down as follows: 68 residences have a direct or partial sea view, 84 face the community, and 24 look onto the pool and playground. Twenty residences have a private garden and 21 have a terrace. Put differently, about 39% of the building has some sea view, which matters when you read the price list, because the sea-view premium is the largest single driver of price within a type.

The plans themselves are generous in the way that suits the Gulf. The one-bedroom A1 has an en-suite with double vanity, a walk-in wardrobe, a separate powder room, a utility room and an island kitchen open to the living area. The two-bedroom B1 gives each bedroom an en-suite and a walk-in wardrobe, with a utility room off the kitchen. The B5 adds a study and a 70 m² terrace to a two-bedroom plan, which is where the “2.5” comes from. The C4 three-bedroom runs to three en-suites and a 63 m² terrace. The Sunset House is a two-storey layout with a ground-floor living area opening to its own garden, and upstairs a master suite, a second bedroom and a study. Our floor-plan images below are taken from the developer’s price list and brochure.

Prices and Value Per Square Metre

The 1 October price list covers 36 of the 176 residences. It does not include the penthouses, the 2.5-bedroom units or most of the Sunset Houses and three-bedrooms, so the figures below describe the units released first, not the whole building. Prices are in Omani rials; the rate per square metre is applied to gross sellable area.

The pattern is clear and consistent. Within each type the price rises with the floor and with the view: the cheapest one-bedrooms are community-view units on the second floor at OMR 1,275 per square metre (about $308 per square foot), and the dearest are sea-view units on the third and fourth floors at OMR 1,550 to 1,580. Two-bedroom prices run from OMR 1,340 on a second-floor community unit to OMR 1,600 for a fourth-floor sea-and-pool view. The single Sunset House on the list, unit 102, is priced at OMR 2,300 per square metre, a 44% premium over the dearest two-bedroom, which reflects the ground-floor garden and the duplex format. Our ranking of Oman projects by price per square metre shows where these rates sit against the rest of the market.

A selection of the priced units shows the shape of the list in detail.

* Price in case of 100% upfront payment, as footnoted in the price list. The footnote is attached to the two lowest-priced one-bedrooms, units 222 and 235, and to no other unit. The list does not state what those two units would cost on the payment plan, so the size of any upfront discount cannot be calculated from it. The cheapest apartment without the footnote is unit 314 at OMR 101,853. Ask for the upfront terms in writing for the specific unit you want.

Choosing a Floor and a View

The price list lets you see how the developer values height, position and outlook, and it is worth reading before you choose a unit. In the one-bedroom A1, second-floor community-view units are listed at OMR 1,275 per square metre (units 222 and 235) and OMR 1,420 (unit 234), a difference of 11% on the same floor and the same view, so position within the floor matters as much as the floor itself. On the third floor the community-view units run from OMR 1,310 to OMR 1,450, and on the fourth floor from OMR 1,370 to OMR 1,480. Moving to a sea-and-pool view on the fourth floor takes the rate to OMR 1,550, and a pure sea view on the third floor to OMR 1,580. The list does not say why neighbouring units on one floor are priced differently, and the likely answers (proximity to the lift core, a corner position, the aspect of the balcony) are ours, not the developer’s. Ask.

The 2.5-bedroom B5 and the C4 three-bedroom deserve a separate look, because their terraces change how the home is used. The B5 has a 70 m² terrace and looks onto the playground and pool; the C4 has a 63 m² terrace and a sea view. In a climate where the terrace is usable for much of the year, those outdoor areas are living space, and the gap between net and gross area in the plan table (131 m² against 201 m² for the B5) is the reason a price per square metre of gross area understates what you actually pay per square metre of indoor space. When you compare ALMAR with another project, compare net areas where you can.

Which Layout Suits Which Buyer

The one-bedroom A1 is the unit most buyers will see first, because it carries the lowest entry ticket. At 72 m² of net area with a separate powder room and a utility room it is a comfortable pied-à-terre or a rental unit for a single occupant or a couple, and with one parking space it is the layout that depends most on a rental market for its return. The two-bedroom B1 at 116 m² is the family-and-tenant layout, with two en-suite bedrooms that rent independently, which tends to suit shared occupancy by colleagues as well as families. Both are also the units least likely to reach the Golden Residency threshold on their own.

The B5, the C4 and the Sunset Houses are lifestyle units. They are larger, they carry terraces or gardens, and they are the layouts where a buyer is paying for living space rather than for a yield. The Sunset House, a two-storey home with its own 32 m² garden at ground level, is the closest thing in the building to a villa, and it is priced accordingly at OMR 2,300 per square metre. The penthouses, with terraces of 98 m² and 215 m², sit in a separate category and are not yet on the price list; if one interests you, ask for the price before you decide anything else. For buyers who want to live in Oman and also want the sponsor-free Owner Visa, any of these layouts qualifies equally, since the Owner Visa has no minimum value.

The Payment Plan

The plan is built around eight payments tied to construction progress, and it is more back-loaded than many Omani off-plan schedules: 64% is paid by the time the structure and façade are closed in, and 36% is held until handover. The developer’s schedule gives indicative dates, counted from the start of construction.

In rials, the schedule works out as follows for three units from the price list. These are our own calculations from the percentages, rounded to the nearest rial.

Four terms in the developer’s notes deserve a plain reading. Payments are linked to verified construction progress, and are triggered when the developer formally notifies you that a milestone is complete. The dates are estimates and may shift with site progress. The plan is indicative and is subject to the sale and purchase agreement. And the developer reserves the right to amend milestone descriptions and indicative dates before the agreement is signed. In practice that means the table above is a starting point for negotiation, not a contract, and the questions in the due-diligence section below are the ones that turn it into one.

Because the instalments are spread across about 25 months, a buyer paying from a non-dollar account takes on exchange-rate drift on every one of them. Our guide to Oman payment plans compares schedules across projects, and the exchange-rate tables in our rial peg guide show how far the same rial schedule has moved in euros, pounds and zloty. If you are financing part of the purchase, see mortgage in Oman for foreigners; we have not seen a lender’s terms for ALMAR, and we would not assume that a bank will lend against an unbuilt unit.

The Timeline, Step by Step

The developer’s schedule is short enough to set out year by year, and it helps to know what you will be asked to do and when.

In late 2026 the offer is at pre-launch: units are reserved, the sale and purchase agreement is negotiated and the first 10% is paid on signing. In January 2027 enabling works begin. Through 2027 the structure rises below ground and then up to the podium level, with piling, substructure and first-floor slab milestones falling in the second, third and fourth quarters and each releasing a 9% payment. In 2028 the structure reaches the fifth floor and the roof slab, and the façade and blockwork enclosure are closed in by the fourth quarter. By then you will have paid 64%. In the second quarter of 2029 practical completion is due, the final 36% falls due and handover follows, after which snagging, utility connections and the owners’ association take over. If any milestone slips, every later date moves with it, which is why the long-stop and refund questions below are not an academic point.

Architecture and Interiors

ALMAR is designed by Northstar, a Norway-based architectural studio, with the engineering design handled by an Oman-based multidisciplinary consultancy, the landscape by a Dubai-based studio (Square M) and the interiors by a Dubai-based design studio, according to the partner page of the brochure. The result is unusual in Muscat: a biomorphic façade of continuous white curving bands, with arched openings at the base and terraces that cascade down towards the water on the sea side.

The developer’s brand story ties the form to Oman. The massive stone arches at the base are described as a reinterpretation of Omani forts, the rounded wave-like terraces as a nod to the sails of the dhow and the rhythm of ocean currents, and the planted inner courtyards as a modern take on the bustan, the traditional private garden at the heart of the Omani home. These are the developer’s words and not ours, but the arches, the low stone base and the inward-facing gardens are visible in the renders, and in our reading the idea has a practical logic on a coast with this much sun: the arcade at ground level shades the approach and the overhanging terraces shade the floors beneath them.

Interiors in the renders use a palette of warm timber, travertine-look stone, soft green upholstery and curved joinery, with full-height glazing on the sea side. Kitchens have an island with a bar counter and handleless cabinetry; bathrooms use large-format stone, double basins and a separate shower. The brochure is explicit that renders, plans and finishes are indicative and subject to change, so treat the specification list in your sale and purchase agreement as the only description that binds the developer.

Amenities

The developer lists the amenities in two groups. Outdoors there is an infinity pool, a leisure pool and a kids’ pool, sun lounging, a yoga and meditation space, an outdoor playground, outdoor seating, resort-style landscaping, a walking path, private gardens, a waterfront promenade, poolside cabanas and a barbecue lounge. Indoors there is a premium lounge with private meeting space, an indoor kids’ area, a family leisure room, an indoor gym, a yoga room, three levels of indoor parking with car charging, a reception and a guard room. The building totals 801 m² of amenity area on a 9,607 m² plot.

For a buyer comparing projects, two things matter here. The first is that the amenity set is complete but not extravagant: there is no hotel, spa or private beach inside the building, and the beach, marina, golf and dining are all in Al Mouj around it. The second is the cost of running it. Pools, a gym, three parking levels and landscaped terraces are expensive to maintain, and the service charge has not been published. Our guide to service charges in Oman sets out what the charge normally covers; ask the developer for an estimate per square metre in writing, and for what happens if the real figure runs higher.

Location: The Marina Sector of Al Mouj

Al Mouj is a master-planned coastal community in the Wilayat of Seeb, with a marina, an 18-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course, retail and dining at The Walk, several hotels and a mix of apartments and villas. ALMAR is at the northern end, next to the marina and Azura Beach. The developer’s map gives these distances from the building.

Journey times by car, also from the developer’s brochure, are 10 minutes to Muscat International Airport, 10 minutes to the International School of Choueifat, 11 minutes to Assafwah International School, 17 minutes to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, 20 minutes to Mall of Oman, 25 minutes to the Royal Opera House Muscat and 35 minutes to the National Museum of Oman. The airport and the schools are the figures that matter most to residents with families. For the wider market picture see our Al Mouj investment guide and our comparison of the best areas to invest in Oman.

The Developer and the Partners

Two companies matter here and they are not the same. Al Mouj Muscat is the master developer, with the marina, golf course, retail and infrastructure already built. It appointed Aurelian Development as sub-developer for this project, which means Aurelian is responsible for designing, building and selling the building, on land and within a master plan that belong to Al Mouj. The agreement was reported by Black & White Oman, which also quotes Aurelian board member Nicolay Pozdnyakov and Al Mouj’s acting CEO Ahmed Al Massan describing the project.

The brochure describes Aurelian as a development company focused on Oman’s highest-growth regions, handling the whole journey across residential, hospitality and commercial space. It cites $2.7 billion of invested equity and debt capital, more than 25 developed and acquired projects with a combined gross built area of 2.2 million m², and 750 professionals. The small print beneath those figures says the projects were executed by Aurelian team members. We read that as meaning the track record belongs to the people behind the company rather than to this company as a legal entity, and we have not found a completed Aurelian-branded building in Oman. None of this is a criticism: every new developer starts somewhere, and the master developer’s oversight and the escrow rules matter more than a brand. It does mean you should ask for the names, locations and handover dates of the completed projects behind the numbers, and visit one.

Our guide to who builds property in Oman shows which developers have actually handed over, and our handover calendar sets ALMAR’s Q2 2029 date against the rest of the market.

How ALMAR Compares with Other Al Mouj Projects

We list four other projects in Al Mouj. The table uses the “from” prices published on each of those listing pages, not like-for-like unit prices, so it shows where each project starts rather than what a given apartment costs.

ALMAR therefore sits in the middle of Al Mouj’s price range: dearer to enter than Azura, cheaper than the branded projects. What you give up against the branded projects is the hotel name and its services; what you gain is a lower entry ticket and a building with its own character. The developer describes ALMAR as one of the last remaining residential development opportunities in Al Mouj, which is a sales claim we cannot verify and which you should weigh as one.

Rental and Investment Outlook

ALMAR has no rental history, because it does not exist yet, so any yield on this page is an illustration and not a forecast. As a worked example only, a gross yield of 6% on a one-bedroom at OMR 101,853 would be about OMR 6,100 a year before service charges, management fees and the municipal rental tax; our guide to rental yields in Oman has the figures we have actually seen for operating projects, and our guides to property tax and to renting out an Oman property from abroad cover the costs between the gross rent and what reaches your account.

The developer’s brochure aims the product at three groups: expatriate executives who want to live near the airport and the international schools, lifestyle buyers and pre-retirees looking for a marina-and-golf setting, and investors diversifying out of other markets. Those are the people who rent as well as buy, and for an investor the question is whether a 2029 supply of 176 new apartments in one corner of Al Mouj is absorbed at the rents assumed. The marina sector’s own pipeline, and Azura’s later phases, will compete for the same tenants. We would rather say that plainly than quote a yield we cannot support.

The market backdrop is positive but the figures in the brochure are marketing claims. It cites an IMF-based 3.4% GDP growth projection for 2027, a 6.74% annual growth forecast for the Omani residential market to 2031 from Mordor Intelligence, and strong buyer activity in Muscat. We have not checked these against their sources and we do not rely on them. What we can say from our own work is covered in our guide to the risks of the Oman market, which you should read alongside any brochure. When the time comes to sell, see selling property in Oman.

Storms, Drainage and the Basement

ALMAR is a sea-facing building with a basement and three levels of indoor parking on the Muscat coast. That is a sound location and a normal design, but Muscat has been struck by Cyclone Gonu in 2007 and was among the governorates flooded by Cyclone Shaheen in 2021, as our guide to cyclone and flash-flood risk for Oman property buyers sets out. The brochure says nothing about flood design, which is normal for a marketing document and is not evidence of a problem. It does mean the questions in that guide apply: the finished-floor level against the road and the shoreline, where the electrical rooms, pumps and lift machinery sit relative to the basement, what the master developer has built for stormwater, and what the building will be insured against. Ask for the answers in writing.

Off-Plan Due Diligence: Questions to Ask Before You Reserve

An off-plan purchase is protected by law as well as by contract. Oman’s Real Estate Law 79/2025 introduced escrow, preliminary registration and owners’ association rules for off-plan sales, and our guide to the law for off-plan buyers explains what those protections cover and where money remains at risk. With that in mind, these are the questions we would put to the developer.

• Which entity signs the sale and purchase agreement, and is it the same entity that holds the land and the escrow account?
• Where will my payments be held, and who certifies that a milestone has been reached before the next payment falls due?
• What happens to the dates if a milestone slips, and is there a long-stop date after which I can cancel and be refunded?
• Is the OMR 99,131 upfront price available on my unit, in writing, and what exactly does it require?
• Which price counts toward OMR 200,000 for Golden Residency if I am relying on it?
• What is the estimated service charge per square metre, and what does it include?
• Which completed projects stand behind the Aurelian figures in the brochure, and may I visit one?
• What are the finished-floor levels, the basement flood protection and the building insurance?
• What is the defects-liability period after handover, and who inspects?
• If I pay from a non-dollar account, can I pay each instalment in my own currency or in dollars to reduce conversion margins?

The Verdict

ALMAR is a distinctive building in an established community at a mid-range entry price, with a back-loaded payment plan and a clear delivery timetable. Its strengths are the setting, the Al Mouj infrastructure around it, a layout range from one bedroom to duplex and penthouse, and the fact that more than a third of the residences have a sea view. Its weaknesses are the ones every unbuilt project has: no construction yet, no rental history, an estimated service charge and a sub-developer whose track record in Oman is not yet visible. If you accept those, the most sensible way to approach it is to pick the unit by floor and view rather than by headline price, to decide your payment currency before you sign, and to get the escrow, milestone-certification and flood-design answers in writing.

Request current availability and the full price list for ALMAR

Sources: developer’s pre-launch price list dated 1 October 2026, brochure “ALMAR 2026” and brand platform (Aurelian Development). Sub-development agreement: Black & White Oman. Golden Residency: Invest Oman. Dollar conversions use the peg of 2.6008 and are rounded. Prices, availability, plans and dates are indicative and subject to the sale and purchase agreement. This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.