Record breaking level of mortgage transactions reached in September, up 68% from 2020 according to Government transaction data.
The end of third-quarter spelled a record breaking year so far for the mortgage market in Dubai, as the total number of mortgage transactions registered year to date exceeded records for the same period over the past three years. According to government date, as of the end of September, Dubai had registered 68 percent more mortgages than the same period in 2020 and 71 percent more than in 2019.
Q3 2020 was a notably active period in the mortgage industry, as banks and other stakeholders involved in the mortgage process reopened for business allowing mortgage transactions that had been placed on hold during lockdown to proceed as normal again. Despite the post-lockdown spike in mortgage transactions experienced in Q3 2020, data from the government shows that Q3 2021 transactions have still exceeded this by 22 percent. To provide further context on the growth experienced in 2021, it is worth comparing Q3 2021 to Q3 2019, as a time period which was unaffected by the pandemic. Mortgage transactions in Q3 2021 were up 32 percent on the same period in 2019.
“It has been a very busy year, with the total number of mortgages registered in Dubai during the first three quarters already overtaking the total number registered in the whole of 2020. This is so exciting to see as more buyers are getting onto the housing ladder. Now with Expo opening we’re even more excited to see what happens as we enter the final quarter of the year,” comments Warren Philliskirk, Director at Mortgage Finder.
According to data and trends from Mortgage Finder, an independent mortgage consultancy and part of the Property Finder Group, those purchasing property for the first time in the UAE have been particularly active, making up 83 percent of mortgage transactions. In 2020, the UAE Central Bank reduced the down payment requirement for first-time buyers in the UAE by 5 percent, taking it to 20 percent for non-UAE nationals and 15 percent for nationals. It is positive to see first-time buyers take advantage of this down payment reduction and also of the record low interest rate environment currently being experienced in the UAE.
63 percent of mortgage purchases were villa/townhouse properties amongst Mortgage Finder clients, apartments made up 35 percent and the remaining 2 percent was attributed to land, commercial and other property types.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Finance World staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)