DUBAI - The real estate regulator of Dubai said on Monday that it would introduce a price index in early 2010 to help benchmark property values in the emirate.

Mahmoud Hesham Al Burai, Director of Development at the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, or RERA, said that the property price index would work along the same principles as the rental index that the agency launched earlier this year and makes available on its website.

Established in July 2007 by a royal decree, RERA is part of the Dubai Land Department, which regulates, manages and licenses various real estate-related activities in Dubai.

"We will announce the price index in the beginning of next year," Al Burai told Khaleej Times, on the sideline of a press conference at Cityscape Dubai 2009. The price index would be comprehensive and cover all property developments in the emirate, he said.

RERA envisages a transparent and effective regulatory environment in which various players in the real estate market could conduct their business. Al Burai said earlier at a news conference that the regulator wanted to make the market more transparent.

"We want to see the market where the rights of all parties will be protected, and in this regard the agency needs cooperation of all stakeholders," he said, adding that the agency was rolling out a series of initiatives designed to include all main entities within its regulatory framework.

"We want global standards in our real estate market," Al Burai said. "We will soon introduce much-awaited supply and demand statistics."

Around 420 developers and 8,000 brokers are registered with RERA. Neighbouring emirates Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah have created similar property regulators.

Speaking of Dubai’s property market before the crisis in 2008, El Burai said that the sector had "lost its focus and sense of responsibility," but he added that it was now back on track.

"It has been a long and painful year...but it has taught us to be more creative, effective and ambitious," he said. "We have done a lot but there is more to do. This is just the start of it."

But El Burai added that it was solely up to RERA to manage investors’ expectations, pointing out that buyers had to take responsibility for their investments. Alluding to examples of investors not properly examining contracts, he said: "We have a responsibility to protect the investors, but the investors also have their own responsibility."

"The idea of house price index is good as it will create a little more transparency in the market," Centurion Real Estate Chief Executive Officer Ali Zaidi said.

Zaidi said that it was time to launch a Multiple Listing Service, by RERA where you could see all the listed properties. He added this system was quite famous in the US as only registered brokers could list properties on MLS.