Dubai Islamic mortgage industry becomes more competitive

Wed, 10 Aug 2011
Dubai's Islamic mortgage industry is beginning to get competitive once more, with rates dropping and suggestions that the housing market may be bottoming out.

According to a report on ArabianBusiness.com, lenders in the emirate have been cutting prices to attract more buyers after custom dried up over the past three years.

House prices have plummeted 64 per cent since 2008, meaning owners may have taken a big hit in the value of their property.

The silver lining is that new buyers can now grab bargain properties while also taking advantage of low-rate Islamic mortgages.

ArabianBusiness.com gave the example of Philippe Bakhos, who used a Mashreqbank home loan of AED 2 million (£335,200) to buy a AED 2.5 million three-bedroom villa in The Springs.

The French engineer paid almost half of the AED 4.4 million the villa would have cost at the height of the Dubai property boom and is also enjoying a 5.49 per cent rate from his Islamic mortgage provider.

Islamic mortgages are also available in the UK and are designed to allow Muslims to buy property, without contravening the laws of their religion.
Salaam-u-Allaikum
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