Islamic mortgages ''becoming more popular''


Mon 15th Oct, 15:43:05 BST

Islamic mortgages are becoming easier to take out since the government abolished double-stamp duty, it has been suggested.

The products, which comply with Sharia laws that state Muslims cannot make money from money, involved lenders purchasing a property and the borrower legally buying the property back at the end of the deal.

While double stamp-duty regulations were in place, this meant that both the bank and the borrower had to pay the levy, but Emile Abu-Shakra, media relations manager for Lloyds TSB, says that the market has changed dramatically since they were scrapped.

"It reduced significantly the costs for providers and consumers and just made it more accessible to everybody. So that obviously lead to a proliferation of them and they''ve become more popular among consumers," he said.

According to figures compiled by market analysts Datamonitor, demand for the products is very strong, with the firm estimating the market for them will be worth £1.4 billion by 2009.

Although Islamic home finance products offered by high street retailers, including Lloyds and HSBC, are designed with Muslims in mind, people of other faiths are also allowed to take them out.ADNFCR-1143-ID-18317377-ADNFCR


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