The UAE lender seems to be ignoring impending regulations by the Central Bank to cap mortgages at 80 and 75 per cent.

The move flies in the face of impending regulations from the UAE’s Central Bank that is expected to cap lending for local first-time homeowners to 80 per cent of the home’s value and 75 per cent for expatriates, with lending for additional homes expected to be capped at 65 per cent and 60 per cent.

The Central Bank initially announced the caps would be much tighter, at 70 per cent for UAE nationals and 50 per cent for expats, with subsequent homes at 60 per cent and 40 per cent.

Central Bank revised the figures after a proposal by the country’s leading commercial banks earlier this year.

The announcement by DIB is in partnership with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment (MRHE), which ‘aims to enhance the quality of life for UAE nationals living in Dubai by helping them access superior housing’.

Sami Abdullah Gargash, CEO, MRHE said: “We are delighted to welcome Dubai Islamic Bank as a home finance partner as we prepare to unveil housing alternatives under the MRHE program.

“These initiatives are part of the long-term commitment of delivering quality homes to UAE nationals.”

Rising rents, low mortgage rates drive shift in attitude, industry experts say

Dubai: The concept of renting and hopping from one apartment to another has become unrealistic for some tenants in Dubai and many are now warming to the idea of owning a home.

Property experts in the UAE have observed a change in attitude towards home ownership and say this shift is driven primarily by rising rents and easier mortgage terms.

Residential rents have been rising recently, owing to the recovery of the real estate market. During the first six months of the year, rental values across Dubai went up by 11.3 per cent.

Interest rates on mortgages in Dubai have dropped over the last three to four years from 9 per cent to 4.5 per cent per year. Banks are also offering other incentives to would-be homeowners, such as discounts on processing and valuation fees, and reduced interest rate during the first year.

Bluewaters Island, a new Dh6 billion mixed-use development, destined to be one of the largest tourist hot spots in the world, has received the go-ahead from His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The development by Meraas Holding will be located off the Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR) coastline. The Dh1 billion Dubai Eye that Meraas Holding has already unveiled will be a major component of the Bluewaters Island development. The world’s largest Ferris wheel is envisioned to be a must-visit experience for visitors and residents in the UAE and articulates Dubai’s long-term plan to be a key tourism hub in the world.

The Dubai Expo 2020 team is now focused on working towards the Theme Symposium in Dubai this October.

The Theme Symposium, which will be held by each of the candidate cities, is an opportunity for the UAE to further demonstrate to BIE delegates the global relevance and timeliness of the bid theme, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. Delegates will have the chance to explore the three subthemes- Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity - which represent key drivers of global development.

The event will also allow delegates to witness and experience first-hand the many unique advantages that the country offers as a potential host nation, including the country's robust infrastructure, warm hospitality and global connectivity.

As a result of the country's infrastructure and geographical positioning, Dubai Expo 2020 can expect to attract 25 million visitors offering a diverse and exciting international profile. For the first time in the history of World Expo more than 70 per cent of the visitors would stem from beyond the host nation.

An Expo in Dubai would take place on the eve of the UAE's 50th anniversary, starting countrywide celebrations. It would also be the first time that a World Expo would be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. More than 277,000 jobs are forecast to be created by Dubai Expo 2020 and for each one of these an additional 50 jobs are expected to be sustained across the wider region.

Dubai Expo 2020 will leave a powerful legacy, both in terms of the Expo site itself and also as an inspiration for future generations.

Dubai is competing against three other candidate cities in its bid to host the World Expo in 2020.

Announced earlier this year under the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and spearheaded by DTCM, Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020 sets out how the city will double its annual visitor numbers from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million in 2020.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of DTCM, said: “The figures for the first half of 2013 are extremely encouraging and indicate that we are on the way to achieving our Tourism Vision for 2020. Our strategy is to position Dubai as the foremost destination for both leisure and business travellers by continuously evolving our broad and diverse tourism offering, and attracting visitors from a range of source markets, including targeting a new generation of first-time travellers from emerging markets. The increase in visitors from each of our key source markets is particularly encouraging, with a number of these markets showing particularly strong growth, including the GCC countries, China, India, Australia and many countries in Europe.”

Dubai: Dubai’s population has shot up 4.8 per cent to 2,174,000 people this month as compared to 2,068,000 people recorded as living in the emirate in August 2012, says Dubai Statistics Centre.

The findings were based on taking into account the daily and monthly estimation of Dubai permanent residents whether Emirati or expatriate.

Dubai first crossed the two million people mark in December 2011 when its population rose by five per cent in comparison to 2010 to reach 2,000,072, an increase of 22,072 in less than three months.

The emirate has a high expatriate population because of work and business opportunities.

Dubai has unveiled a raft of construction projects in the past year worth more than $130bn, an analysis by Arabian Business has found.

The announcements by major developers includes a growing pipeline of mega projects in what has been touted as a resurgence in the development sector.

However, property analysts say the ambitious construction agenda, which is set to be rolled out over the next few years, needed to be viewed cautiously after the 2008-10 economic crisis resulted in Dubai property prices plummeting by up to 60 percent and many projects being cancelled.

Move after government sets up committee to liquidate and settle claims on cancelled projects

In the past two weeks, three developers have published project cancellation notices.

Earlier Rera said it would not release in public the list of cancelled projects, but stated investors in cancelled projects are notified through  email.

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