Tuesday, August 26, 2008

UAE Mortgage Market Seen Growing 220% In Next 3 Years

Source : The Business Times, August 26, 2008

(ABU DHABI) The mortgage market of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) is projected to grow 220 per cent to 64 billion dirhams (S$24.7 billion) in the next three years, local newspaper Gulf News reported yesterday.

Booming sector: Foreign investors can buy property on a freehold basis in Dubai.

According to a study by the Dubai-based real estate company Bonyan International Investment Group, syariah-compliant house financing will make up more than 60 per cent of the figure

The UAE is viewed by global investors as the best market for capital gains growth, and has been identified as the only Gulf country to witness an increase in consumer confidence for the second half of this year, Bonyan said.

'This can be attributed to the UAE's pioneering move to allow foreigners to invest in local property, which created outstanding opportunities for world-class developers to attract investors to the country,' it noted.

Capital gains and income yields have been much higher in the UAE than most other international property markets, with investors acquiring investments with no personal income or capital gains taxes.

The UAE has seen a boom in its real estate sector since 2002, when Dubai, the UAE's commercial and financial hub, gave foreign investors the green light to buy property on a freehold basis.

The government of Dubai issued a 35-article mortgage law last Tuesday in a bid to regulate the emirate's booming real estate market. -- Xinhua

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