MANAMA: The cost of mortgages to buy houses in Bahrain and across the region could rise in the next few weeks, say experts. Leading Bahrain mortgage lender Sakana Holistic Housing Solutions says the global credit crunch could mean higher borrowing costs in the GCC in the very near future.

"Liquidity has dried up across the world and the cost of borrowing is going up and that is likely to have an impact in the regional market in the near future," said chief executive officer R Lakshmanan.

"With banks increasing the cost of borrowing money, mortgage lenders will have to pass those costs on to customers."

He said that the market for houses had been flat of late because the summer slowdown had been followed by Ramadan, when business was normally slow.

"House prices in Bahrain are holding up at the moment and developers are continuing to announce new mega projects across the region," said Mr Lakshmanan.

"But prices could be under pressure from the credit crisis and we should see what is happening in the local market in the next few weeks."