Luxury Real Estate News From Around the World
Dubai, long claiming to be immune to the financial crisis has finally come clean and admitted to the fact that nary a property has been sold in the last six months, CityScape was a disaster, their debt to GDP ratio is a shocking 148%, property job losses are rising and real estate prices in Dubai are in freefall.
A number of measures have been implemented to prevent a complete collapse of the market - Dubai’s two main mortgage providers have gone bust and Adu Dhabi’s Real Estate bank has stepped in and merged the two lenders together, and a new mortgage provider, Abu Dhabi Finance has been formed . ADF will attempt to resuscitate the market by offering loan to value ratios of 85%, up to 30 year mortgages and flexible repayments.
Perhaps the most startling piece of news is the admission of a debt to GDP ratio this high. Just a few months ago, analysts were suggesting a ratio of just 7.7%. Certainly, more transparency needs to be introduced to the UAE’s financial markets, and hopefully this will eventually result in a little more faith in the region. For now, foreign investors are bailing out as fast as possible.
Read about how Dubai compares real estate wise with other key cities around the world
