Dubai newspapers are reporting that the local government has issued a mortgage law aimed at regulating the city-state's booming property market.

Wednesday's reports in the Khaleej Times and the Gulf News say that the law requires that mortgages be insured, sold by approved banks, registered with local authorities and that they specify the property value and terms of the loan. They say the ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, issued the decree on the new law. It will take effect 60 days from publication. The decree comes amid a corruption probe involving some of Dubai's most prominent companies and growing concerns that speculators are inflating prices in the emirate's frenzied real estate market.