Property prices tumble in Dubai

Falling house prices, a tightening mortgage market, banks having to be bailed out by the government, rising unemployment. Sound familiar? Welcome to Dubai.

Falling house prices, a tightening mortgage market, banks having to be bailed out by the government, rising unemployment. Sound familiar? Welcome to Dubai.

When the credit crunch first struck, "the capital of bling looked set to buck the global downturn", says Peter Conradi in The Sunday Times. But figures are now emerging that show the desert region's property prices are not just falling they are plummeting. According to Colliers International a property consultancy firm house prices fell by 8% in the final quarter of 2008 in Dubai. Although property prices in the region rose 59% in 2008, HSBC research found that property prices fell by 23% in the fourth quarter. And things could be about to get nastier, with UAE bank Shuaa Capital forecasting that prices will fall 60% in 2009.

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