Property buyers gain as UAE mortgage lenders lower key requirement for offplan projects

Property buyers gain as UAE mortgage lenders lower key requirement for offplan projects

Dubai: New offplan property buyers in the UAE are starting to get mortgages quicker than in the past after lenders gradually eased the requirements on project construction levels. Where earlier banks would lend only by the time the project has reached the 80 per cent mark, these days, they are willing to do so by the 50 per cent or over stage. Doing so will free up the prospects for the UAE property market as a whole, which is seeing an influx of new buyers among residents and overseas buyers. Even among the resident buyers, many are newcomers to the UAE and earlier getting a mortgage approval would have taken them longer. Industry sources say that banks are clued in to the need to keep funding available, especially as the Dubai property market turns increasingly reliant on offplan launches to feed the demand. The need is acute even after the 10 rounds of interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and matched by the banking regulator in the UAE. (This week, the chances are the Fed will not add another rate hike.) “These days, there are lenders willing to offer 75 per cent loan-to-value to residents once the offplan