Dubai Developers Face Refinancing Risk, Fitch Says - BusinessWeek

Dubai’s property companies may face significant refinancing risks as the emirate’s real estate market will likely remain under pressure until at least 2012- 2013, Fitch Ratings said.

The property industry “is likely to see a period of stagnant growth at best and a double-dip contraction at worst,” Bashar al-Natoor, director at Fitch’s Europe Middle East Africa corporates team wrote in a note e-mailed today.

Property prices in Dubai fell by 55 percent since mid-2008 mainly because of the financial crisis, prompting some foreign homeowners to stop paying off mortgages and leave the country. Some analysts expect property prices to dip another 20 percent to 40 percent. Developers such as Union Properties PJSC are trying to sell assets to pay debts and complete projects.