The residential mortgage market in Dubai dropped by 73% in volume terms in 2009 as transaction levels in the Emirates real estate market collapsed. September 2009 saw the biggest fall in new mortgage approvals, down 96% having previously fallen by 93% in May, according to official figures from the Dubai Land Department.

There were increases in some months, as July and August saw a 35% and 31% improvement respectively. Overall in 2009, there were only a total of 3,059 new mortgages granted worth a total value of $7.56bn.

However, according to Jesse Downs of Landmark Advisory, whilst the mortgage market had shrunk, its percentage of the markets as a whole had remained constant.

Downs, Director of research and advisory services, said: ‘Based on our transactional data, approximately 20% of transactions in 2008 were purchased with a mortgage. Interestingly, in 2009 this remained steady at 20%. While transaction volumes have decreased in 2009, the relative portion of mortgage activity has remained unchanged,’