UAE property market 'remains stable'

Government initiatives and industry cooperation will ensure that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) property market remains stable, it has been claimed.

According to Emirates Business, real estate experts expect to see prices begin to level off this year, but this does not mean the end of long-term price growth.

They agreed that government measures to help increase mortgage availability and improve regulation will help spur the market on again in the future.

Markus Giebel, chief executive officer of Deyaar real estate company, told the news source that developers and private companies are also working with the government to ensure a stable market.

"I believe we have every reason to be confident that 2009 will be a good year for the real estate sector in the UAE," he commented.

According to the latest House Price Index from Colliers International, property values in Dubai were still 59 per cent higher for the fourth quarter of 2008 than in 2007.

This comes despite the data revealing that prices dropped by eight per cent in the emirate between October and December of last year.