Property prices on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah island have fallen as much as 40 percent since September as buyers struggle to get mortgage loans amid the global credit crisis, real estate brokers say.

A four-bedroom villa on the man-made island developed by government-owned Nakheel, is now selling for 10 million UAE dirhams ($2.72 million), down from 15 million dirhams in September, Quaid Abbas, property consultant at Engel & Volkers told Reuters on Thursday.

Rehab Gouda, senior sales agent at Al Jabal Real Estate, said that prices had fallen 40 percent during the same period.

Dubai Islamic mortgage lender Amlak said on Wednesday it had suspended new mortgage loans as Dubai's real estate sector shows signs of collapsing.

"It is very hard to get loans now. Customers are suffering," Gouda said. "Either they have pre-approval from before the crisis, or they are cash buyers."    

"When customers choose a property banks often undervalue it, so they end up having to pay more from their pocket," said Abbas, adding that western banks such as Lloyds and Barclays were lending as much as 75 percent but were being very selective on customers' profiles.

Nakheel said earlier this week it was witnessing a slowdown in the rate of real estate sales and last month announced it had scaled back dredging work on its massive Palm Deira project, the largest of three palm archipelagos that is planned to house more than 1 million people. - Reuters