UAE property platform Holo has leveraged AI-powered document recognition to reduce mortgage submission times by 65 per cent. As interest rates fluctuate, the automation allows for faster approvals and disbursals, supporting a surge in refinancing and equity release enquiries across the Emirates.
Holo has reduced processing times across multiple stages of the mortgage journey. The time taken to submit an application to a lender is now 65% shorter, while the average period between submission and lender approval has fallen by 95%. Combined with a 78% reduction in the average time from application to disbursal, these improvements show how Holo is using technology to accelerate the mortgage journey for its customers.
AI is also helping remove one of the most time-consuming parts of the mortgage journey. Using AI-powered document recognition, relevant information can be extracted from customer documents and automatically formatted into lender-specific applications, turning what has traditionally involved significant manual administration into a process that can be completed in seconds. This allows mortgage experts to spend more time supporting customers and less time moving information between documents and systems.
Customers can now upload the required documents securely in one place, with document recognition technology extracting the relevant information and populating the required lender forms. Completed applications are then generated for digital signature before being submitted to the lender.
“We are seeing people engage with their mortgage very differently. Buyers who paused earlier in the year are moving again, while existing homeowners are looking more closely at whether their current mortgage is still the right one for them and what they can do with the equity they have built up. Speed is a huge part of that experience. When someone is ready to move on a property, financing shouldn’t be what holds the wider transaction up. Technology allows us to take a lot of the administration out of the process, while our experts can spend more time helping customers make the right financial decision,” said Arran Summerhill, COO and Co-Founder at Holo.
As financing conditions continue to evolve, UAE buyers are increasingly looking for speed, certainty and flexibility when navigating property finance. This is reflected in Holo’s own activity: lender submission volumes strengthened towards the end of Q2, with June volumes exceeding the same month last year, while early September transaction volumes were 50% higher than in August. Monthly transaction value has now surpassed USD 500 million.
The shift is also extending beyond new purchases. Enquiries for refinancing, mortgage buyouts and equity release are now more than five times higher than during the same period last year, as homeowners review their existing financing and consider how changing market conditions affect their options. At the same time, competition among UAE lenders is giving borrowers more choice through pricing, different mortgage structures and incentives, including reduced or waived processing fees and free valuations.
