Dubai's Palm property prices fall 40%

Property prices on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah island have fallen as much as 40 per cent since September as buyers struggle to get mortgage loans amid the global credit crisis, property brokers say. A four-bedroom villa on the man-made island developed by government-owned Nakheel, is now selling for Dh10 million (US$2.72m), down from Dh15m in September, Quaid Abbas, property consultant at Engel & Volkers said today. Rehab Gouda, senior sales agent at Al Jabal Real Estate, said that prices had fallen 40 per cent during the same period. Dubai Islamic mortgage lender Amlak said on Wednesday it had suspended new mortgage loans as Dubai's property sector shows signs of collapsing. "It is very hard to get loans now. Customers are suffering," Mr Gouda said. "Either they have pre-approval from before the crisis, or they are cash buyers." "When customers choose a property banks often undervalue it, so they end up having to pay more from their pocket," said Mr Abbas, adding that western banks such as Lloyds and Barclays were lending as much as 75 per cent but were being very selective on customers' profiles. Nakheel said earlier this week it was witnessing a slowdown in the rate of property sales and last month announced it had scaled back dredging work on its massive Palm Deira project, the largest of three palm archipelagos that is planned to house more than 1 million people. * Reuters