Dubai's property boom is two years away from its peak and is showing no signs of a slowdown, top developers and lenders have said.

Despite fears of a correction, new legislation this year and limited supply mean that real estate prices are set to keep
rising, according to some of Dubai's top players.

And demand for properties shows no signs of abating, said Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi, Chief Executive Officer of Amlak Finance, the city's biggest mortgage-only lender.

"I don't agree we are at the peak of the current property cycle.We are nowhere near the peak," Al Hashimi said
emphatically. "We need double of what we have.The leadership vision is clear.

"The bulk of the money [fuelling property growth] is coming from financiers who perform due diligence. If they feel the quality of their investment is acceptable, then current prices are not inflated. This means there is still future growth possible in prices," added Al Hashimi.

All markets whether property, stocks, interest rates or commodities experience the boom to bust cycle, which helps savvy investors maximise gains or minimise losses.

Hussain Sajwani, Chairman of Damac Properties, the emirate's largest privately owned developer, said: "Dubai has a unique situation. This real estate cycle will be longer than earlier ones, or the cycles in other markets, because Dubai does not depend on local demand alone.

"Dubai is like a home or second home for the upper middle classes from the GCC, Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan and even Russia," said Sajwani. "It is a hub for five billion people looking for a better lifestyle than they can get for their money back home." The last peak in property rates, said Elaine Jones, Chief Executive of Dubai-based property services company Asteco, "would have been in the middle to late 1990s".

Assuming an eight-year cycle, rates should be at their peak about now. "However, the Dubai leadership has ensured that it
creates new impetus that prolong the boom part of the cycle.We are still in a seller's market," said one analyst. The summer of 2002, when foreigners were given the right to own property in certain enclaves through the promulgation of the freehold law "was the first impetus", he added.

"Four years later, in March this year, the land registration law was codified. "And in between, an economic situation is being created
that is actively promoting growth and demand. "All this is expected to prolong the demand curve for Dubai property," he said.