Zen Residences, Muscat Bay, Oman

Zen Residences is a set of five low-rise buildings in Muscat Bay, the gated resort community set between sandy cliffs on the Gulf of Oman coast. The buildings combine grey render with red brick cladding, black-framed panoramic windows and glass balcony partitions — a loft design language.

Three facts frame this listing. The developer’s handover target is Q1 2027, while Muscat Bay’s other scheme, Luma Residence, has a target of Q1 2029. According to our listing, 13 of the 80 homes are available. And the payment plan runs on fixed calendar dates rather than dates counted from the booking; the arithmetic is below.

Zen Residences at a glance

Sizes and prices

The two priced rows are close per square foot — $260 and $261, a difference of under half a percent. As at Opal Residences, this is flat-rate pricing: floor area is priced at a single rate, with no surcharge or discount for size.

The listed sizes run from 635 sq ft to 8,185 sq ft, a 12.9× range, so the duplex lofts at the top of the range are a different product from the studios at the bottom.

Studios, one-bedrooms and duplex lofts

The size range starts at 635 sq ft. The developer describes studios and one, two and three-bedroom apartments plus duplex lofts. The price list on our listing opens at the two-bedroom, from 1,378 sq ft, and prices for the smaller and larger types are given on enquiry.

Reading the price table, unit by unit

The two-bedroom apartment starts at 1,378 sq ft (128 m²) and $358,900, about $260 per square foot or about OMR 138,000. The three-bedroom apartment starts at 1,830 sq ft (170 m²) and $478,500, about $261 per square foot or about OMR 184,000. Moving from the first row to the second adds 452 sq ft and $119,600. Both entry prices are below OMR 200,000, the single-property figure used for Golden Residency (about $520,160).

The studio starts at 635 sq ft (59 m²). The one-bedroom apartment and the duplex lofts, up to 8,185 sq ft (760 m²), are priced on enquiry. Per-square-foot figures are the listing price divided by the stated size in square feet. The developer’s master plan labels the buildings Z1 to Z5, with ground to third floors and a loft level on the fourth and fifth floors, and every apartment has a balcony.

The payment plan runs on fixed calendar dates

Zen Residences’ instalments are tied to named calendar months rather than to a schedule counted from the booking date, so every buyer follows the same calendar regardless of when the sale agreement is signed.

Two features follow from the fixed calendar.

First, a share falls due after handover. With the Q1 2027 handover target in the developer’s data sheet, a buyer will have paid 2.5 + 17.5 + 20 + 15 = 55% by handover, and the remaining 45% falls due after the keys are handed over, in June, September and December 2027. That lets a buyer be in the apartment, or letting it, while the final instalments are paid.

Second, a reservation made now follows the remaining calendar. A new reservation involves 2.5% at reservation, 17.5% at signing and 20% in December 2026, which is 40% of the purchase price by the December 2026 instalment, followed by 15% in each quarter of 2027.

The reservation documents set out the exact amounts and dates that apply to a given sale.

What each instalment costs

A worked payment example

Take the $358,900 two-bedroom. The 2.5% reservation payment is $8,973 and the 17.5% payment at signing is $62,808, together about $71,780, or 20% of the price. The December 2026 instalment of 20% adds $71,780, bringing the total to $143,560 (40%). Each of the four 15% instalments in 2027 is $53,835; the March payment takes the running total to $197,395 (55%), which is the amount paid by a Q1 2027 handover.

The same arithmetic applies to the $478,500 three-bedroom: $11,963 at reservation, $83,738 at signing, $95,700 in December 2026 and $71,775 in each 2027 quarter, with $263,175 (55%) paid by March 2027. The remaining 45% after handover is $161,505 on the two-bedroom and $215,325 on the three-bedroom, spread over June, September and December 2027. These are illustrative figures worked from the percentages on this page; the reservation documents state the amounts for a given home.

Handover target

The handover target is Q1 2027, per the developer’s data sheet, as recorded on our listing. The sale and purchase agreement carries the contractual completion date that applies to a given home, and the payment schedule above hangs off that date: under a Q1 2027 handover, 55% of the price is paid before handover and 45% after.

Service charge

The service charge on the developer’s data sheet is 10 AED per square foot (AED is the UAE dirham). The table converts that rate for four home sizes at the dirham-dollar rate used on this page.

Converted to the basis Omani schemes normally use, 10 AED per square foot is about 11.3 OMR per square metre. For the 1,378 sq ft two-bedroom the charge is about 1.05% of the purchase price, inside the 1–2% range typical in the Gulf.

The rate, currency and period are confirmed in the service-charge schedule when reserving. Our guide to service charges in Omani real estate sets out what these normally cover and what they normally cost. Because the charge is quoted per unit of area, it scales with the size of the home.

Zen Residences and Luma Residence side by side

Muscat Bay has two schemes selling off-plan, Zen Residences and Luma Residence, and the table sets out their published figures side by side. Both share the same community, private-beach access and gated entry.

Zen Residences has a Q1 2027 handover target and a plan under which 45% of the price falls due after handover. Luma Residence has a Q1 2029 target, adds townhouses and villas to its apartments, and is built by Muscat Bay’s partnership of OMRAN Group and Saraya Oman.

The choice between them depends on the timetable and home type a buyer is looking for: apartments and lofts with a 2027 target at Zen Residences, or apartments, townhouses and villas with a 2029 target at Luma Residence.

The developer: Zen Development and Investment

Zen Development and Investment is an Omani real estate company based in Muscat, working across residential and commercial property. Its stated approach combines contemporary architecture with environmentally responsible design — the company describes its brand as embodying “innovation, balance, and environmental responsibility”.

The website of Zen Development and Investment LLC gives a Bousher address in Muscat and names four core values: quality, ingenuity, sustainability and community. The named executive in the launch coverage is Mohammed Assaf, Partner and Director of Operations.

The project sits inside Muscat Bay, a community developed by Saraya Bandar Jissah, trading as Muscat Bay, a partnership of OMRAN Group and Saraya Oman. Estate management and security are those of the wider community, while the sale agreement and the project escrow account for a Zen Residences home are with Zen Development.

The main contractor is Al Adrak Trading & Contracting Co LLC, an Omani engineering construction company, appointed in May 2024. Our guide to buying off-plan property in Oman explains how the escrow protections work.

Developer timeline and profile

Dated announcements on the developer’s news page trace the project: the launch at Jumeirah Muscat Bay on 6 March 2024 under the patronage of the Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, the appointment of Al Adrak on 17 May 2024, the start of construction on 27 August 2024 and a progress event on 9 September 2024. The full sourced timeline is in our Zen Development profile, and the developers hub sets out the developers behind our Oman listings.

Architecture: loft design language

The buildings use grey paint with decorative red brick cladding, panoramic windows in black frames and glass balcony partitions, with brown wood-effect decking on terraces and balconies.

The result is a loft aesthetic — industrial materials, hard edges, restrained colour — set against sandy cliffs. The five buildings are low-rise and spaced apart, which the developer frames as privacy rather than density.

Every apartment has a balcony, and most rooms have panoramic glazing.

What you get inside

Homes are delivered finished, in a consistent grey palette with natural wood and stone.

The finish schedule above covers floors, walls, doors, bathrooms and windows. The specification for a given home, including the kitchen and its appliances, is set out in the sale agreement.

Amenities

The amenity mix is outdoor: an open-air fitness area, a running track, a mini-golf strip, a Zen garden and a yoga garden, alongside the infinity pool and sports court. The master plan also shows guest parking. According to the developer’s releases, residents also have access to the wider Muscat Bay community, which has shops, a beach and the Jumeirah Muscat Bay hotel.

Private beach access is under a 15-minute walk from the buildings.

Location and drive times

The first three rows set the character of the location — hiking trails three minutes away, a supermarket four, a bay at seven, and a private beach on foot. It is a coastal, outdoors-led setting and the drive times reflect that.

The community’s own website, muscatbay.com, places Muscat Bay about 20 minutes from downtown Muscat. Ruwi, the nearest city centre, is 17 minutes by car, and the two hospitals in the table are 15 minutes away.

Muscat Bay, the community around the project

Muscat Bay began as Saraya Bandar Jissah, a partnership between the state tourism developer OMRAN Group and Saraya Oman, and adopted the Muscat Bay name in April 2017. The community covers about 2.2 million square metres and sits in an Integrated Tourism Complex, according to Gulf News in 2018. See our Muscat Bay profile and the completed homes on our Muscat Bay listing.

Oman Observer reported in July 2019 that the first phase of 255 homes was complete, and Jumeirah Muscat Bay, a resort with 206 rooms and suites, opened on 30 June 2022, according to The National. The community’s website describes a valley setting between the Al Hajar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman beaches, with a village green, shops, restaurants, pools and a residents club.

Price per square foot across our Oman listings

Zen Residences is listed at $260 per square foot with a 2027 handover target. The table gives the starting price, rate and handover year of each project on our lists; areas are measured on different bases, so per-square-foot figures should be read within each project’s own price list.

Who Zen Residences suits

Freehold ownership and residency

Homes at Zen Residences are sold freehold and are open to buyers of any nationality, with title registered in the purchaser’s name. Muscat Bay is an Integrated Tourism Complex — the designation under which foreign freehold ownership is permitted in Oman. Our guide to freehold property in Oman and the ITC framework explains how the zones work, and there is background on the wider community on Muscat Bay’s Wikipedia entry and at muscatbay.com.

On residency, two routes are relevant and they are different. Golden Residency requires a single ITC property worth at least OMR 200,000 — about $520,160 at the rial’s dollar peg — and is decided by the Royal Oman Police; the Owner Visa has no minimum price. Read Oman Golden Residency vs the Owner Visa and check the specific unit rather than the scheme.

Residency routes in more detail

Middle East Briefing describes the Golden Residency real estate route as a purchase in an ITC with a valid title deed, with a 10-year permit that can include first-degree family members. The condition is a single property, so two smaller purchases do not combine. The table compares the priced Zen Residences types with OMR 200,000.

Market context for Muscat Bay

Oman offers freehold ownership in designated zones, no annual property tax and no income tax on rental income. The rial’s decades-old dollar peg gives dollar-based buyers a stable exchange rate. Government context is published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning, with national policy set by Oman Vision 2040 and Invest Oman.

At $260 per square foot inside a gated coastal community with private beach access, Zen Residences is priced as a resort-community product, and the comparison on this page is with the other Muscat Bay scheme, Luma Residence. For the wider view see the guide to areas to buy property in Muscat and whether now is a good time to buy.

Letting and the community rules

The tenant profile in this part of Muscat leans towards expatriate families and holiday and seasonal lets rather than twelve-month corporate tenancies. Current ranges are in our guide to rental yields in Oman.

Under the payment structure, three of the seven instalments fall due after a Q1 2027 handover, so a buyer who lets the home would receive rental income while those instalments are still scheduled.

Paying from abroad

Prices are quoted in US dollars and settled in Omani rials, and the rial has been pegged to the dollar at OMR 1 = USD 2.6008 for decades; our guide to the Omani rial peg explains the peg. Buyers paying from another currency convert at the rate on the day of each transfer.

Payments are made to the project’s escrow account, and the reservation documents name the bank, the account holder and the account. SWIFT confirmations form part of the proof-of-payment file at registration. Rates are published by the Central Bank of Oman, and transaction costs are in our guide to property tax in Oman.

How to buy: step by step

• 1. Get the live list of the 13 available homes. By type, building, floor and orientation; studios, one-bedrooms and lofts are priced on enquiry.
• 2. Confirm your payment schedule in writing. The reservation documents state the amounts and dates, including the December 2026 instalment.
• 3. Note the completion date. Q1 2027 is the developer’s target; the sale agreement carries the contractual date.
• 4. Confirm the service charge. The data sheet gives 10 AED per sq ft; the schedule confirms rate, currency and period.
• 5. Review the project documents. The escrow account details, the main contractor and the developer’s construction progress updates.
• 6. Reserve at 2.5%, sign at 17.5%. Review the finishing schedule, kitchen specification, beach access terms and short-let policy before the second payment.
• 7. Plan the 2027 quarters. Four 15% instalments in March, June, September and December, the last three falling after a Q1 2027 handover.

From reservation to keys under Royal Decree 79/2025

A purchase follows the standard off-plan route in Oman. A reservation form and a 2.5% deposit secure a specific home; the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) then names the seller, the home, the price, the payment dates, the handover date and the specification, and a further 17.5% falls due at signing.

Royal Decree 79/2025, issued on 10 September 2025, promulgated the new real estate law; it was published in Official Gazette issue 1613 on 14 September 2025 and takes effect 180 days after publication, which is March 2026. Our explainer of Law 79/2025 for off-plan buyers summarises a developer licence, a separate escrow account for each project, withdrawals tied to verified construction progress, a preliminary registry for off-plan sales and owners’ associations for multi-unit developments.

At handover the buyer inspects the home and lists any items still to be finished (snagging), then receives the keys. Title is registered in the buyer’s name; Gulf News reported in 2018 that foreign purchasers at Muscat Bay receive the title deed two to four months after purchase, and the sale agreement states the timetable for a given home.

What to prepare when reserving

These are the documents and details a buyer normally receives or confirms when reserving a home at Zen Residences.

• Reservation form. It names the home, the price and the deposit, and sets out the deposit terms.
• Sale and purchase agreement. It states the seller’s legal name, the handover date, the specification and the payment dates.
• Escrow account details. The bank, the account holder and the project escrow account for the instalments, in line with Law 79/2025.
• Title and ITC documents. A document that places the home inside the Integrated Tourism Complex and confirms registration in the buyer’s name.
• Payment schedule. The seven instalments with dates and amounts for the chosen home, with the exchange rate stated if paying from abroad.
• Service-charge schedule. The rate, unit of measure, currency and period, confirmed in writing.
• Specification and finish schedule. The finishes, the kitchen specification and the parking allocation.
• Short-let and community rules. If the home may be let, the community rules and any operator arrangement.
• Residency documentation. The route being used, checked against the OMR 200,000 single-property condition for Golden Residency.

Glossary of terms used on this page

• ITC (Integrated Tourism Complex). The designation under which foreign freehold ownership is permitted in Oman; Muscat Bay is located in one.
• SPA (sale and purchase agreement). The contract that names the seller, the home, the price, the payment dates, the handover date and the specification.
• Escrow account. The separate project account into which buyer payments are made under Royal Decree 79/2025.
• Snagging. The inspection at which the buyer lists small items still to be finished at handover.
• Service charge. The recurring charge for shared areas and community services.
• Golden Residency. A residency route requiring a single ITC property worth at least OMR 200,000, decided by the Royal Oman Police.
• Owner Visa. A residency route linked to property ownership, with no minimum price.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Zen Residences?
In Muscat Bay, the gated resort community set between sandy cliffs on the Gulf of Oman coast, south-east of Muscat. Ruwi is about 17 minutes away and the Shangri-La hiking trails three.

Can foreigners buy at Zen Residences?
Yes. Homes are sold freehold and are open to buyers of any nationality, with title registered in the purchaser’s name. Muscat Bay is an Integrated Tourism Complex, the designation that permits foreign freehold ownership in Oman.

How much does an apartment cost?
Two-bedroom apartments start at $358,900 from 1,378 sq ft, and three-bedrooms at $478,500 from 1,830 sq ft. Studios from 635 sq ft and duplex lofts up to 8,185 sq ft are priced on enquiry.

What is the payment plan?
Seven instalments: 2.5% at reservation, 17.5% at signing, 20% in December 2026, then 15% in each of March, June, September and December 2027. The dates are fixed calendar months, not counted from the booking.

Is any of it payable after handover?
Yes. With the Q1 2027 handover target, 45% of the price falls due after handover — in June, September and December 2027.

What is the service charge?
It is 10 AED per square foot on the developer’s data sheet — about $3,752 at that rate on a 1,378 sq ft two-bedroom, or roughly 1.05% of the purchase price. The rate, currency and period are confirmed in the service-charge schedule.

When does Zen Residences complete?
The developer’s data sheet gives a handover target of Q1 2027. The sale agreement carries the contractual completion date.

How many apartments are there?
80 across five low-rise buildings, of which 13 are currently available on our listing.

Is there beach access?
Yes — residents have access to a private beach less than a 15-minute walk away.

Are the homes furnished?
Not furnished, but finished — wood-texture floors, light grey walls, ash-brown doors and skirting, and grey stone-effect bathroom tiling. The kitchen specification is set out in the sale agreement.

Who is the developer?
Zen Development and Investment, an Omani company based in Muscat. Zen Residences is its project at Muscat Bay, launched on 6 March 2024.

How does it compare with Luma Residence?
Both are in Muscat Bay. Zen Residences has a Q1 2027 handover target and 45% of the price payable after handover; Luma Residence has a Q1 2029 target, includes villas and townhouses, and is built by Muscat Bay’s OMRAN and Saraya Oman partnership.

Does buying here qualify for Omani residency?
Golden Residency requires a single ITC property worth at least OMR 200,000 (about $520,160), decided by the Royal Oman Police; the Owner Visa has no minimum price. The two- and three-bedroom entry prices are below OMR 200,000, and other types are priced on enquiry. See our guide to Golden Residency and the Owner Visa.

Talk to UInvest about Zen Residences

With 13 of 80 homes available on our listing and a payment schedule pinned to fixed dates, two documents shape this purchase: the live availability list and your instalment schedule in writing. UInvest works directly with Muscat developers, which means current pricing including the studio and loft types priced on enquiry, real availability by building and floor, and details of the completion quarter, the service charge and the developer’s escrow and contractor arrangements.

Browse apartments for sale in Oman, studios for sale in Oman and penthouses and lofts for sale in Oman, explore all Oman property with UInvest, or contact us for the current Zen Residences price list, instalment schedule and service charge breakdown.