A well developed mortgage market is essential to the growth of the region's housing sector, said R Lakshmanan, chief executive officer of Bahrain-based Sakana Holistics Housing Solutions.

Lakshmanan was speaking at a panel discussion on developing an advanced mortgage finance market to drive growth at the recently held Cityscape Global Focus Forums in Dubai.

Lakshmanan pointed out that the mortgage finance industry had grown significantly over the last decade in the region with the advent of freehold property.

'This has resulted in establishment of numerous dedicated mortgage finance companies and introduction of mortgage product offerings by retail banks,' he noted.

'Prior to freehold, mortgages were primarily provided by government housing finance institutions to its nationals,' said Lakshmanan.

'In certain markets like Bahrain and the UAE, conventional and Islamic finance product offerings are currently available almost on equal basis providing the customer a variety of options to choose from,' he noted.

'The industry has also witnessed increasing number of non-Muslims availing Islamic mortgages reflecting inclusive approach of Islamic finance,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service