The real estate market in Kurdistan...a new recovery after bitter years of stagnation

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[size=52]The real estate market in Kurdistan...a new recovery after bitter years of stagnation[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Suzan Taher[/size]
[size=45]The real estate sector in the Kurdistan region is witnessing a relative recovery after years of stagnation as a result of the economic crisis that struck the cities of the Kurdistan region. Since 2014, the cities of the Kurdistan region have witnessed a stifling economic crisis, as a result of disputes between the federal government and the regional government over Kurdistan’s share of the budget, which caused a delay in Paying employees’ salaries.[/size]
[size=45]This matter led to a significant decline in various sectors, and perhaps the real estate market is one of those sectors that witnessed a major recession and a lack of buying and selling operations, which affected this sector and led to a decline in the prices of houses, apartments, and lands in the cities of the region.[/size]
[size=45]In light of the agreement between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, and as a result of disbursing employee salaries on a regular basis without delay, and the existence of discussions for the process of localizing employee salaries, economic stability is gradually forming within the Kurdistan region.[/size]
[size=45]Real estate movement[/size]
[size=45]The head of the Real Estate Association in Sulaymaniyah, Khalil Aziz, says that the real estate movement since last month has witnessed an important recovery.[/size]
[size=45]He explained in his speech to (Al-Mada) that “the last period, as a result of the financial crisis, buying and selling operations in real estate offices and companies have almost completely stopped in Sulaymaniyah and all the cities of the Kurdistan region, as a result of the lack of financial liquidity, and also most businessmen and merchants from other Iraqi provinces do not They are buying in Kurdistan.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The situation has changed. After the start of the process of disbursing employee salaries and the news indicating an agreement to settle them in banks, this matter revived the movement of the real estate market, and our indicators are that, last month, real estate sales increased by more than 25% compared to the previous months." He continued, “Many of the real estate offices that closed their offices due to weak traffic have resumed work and submitted a request to carry out their work, and this confirms the presence of activity in real estate traffic.”[/size]
[size=45]Reasons for recovery[/size]
[size=45]Economic expert Othman Karim believes that the return of life to the real estate market in the Kurdistan region has a number of reasons.[/size]
[size=45]Confirming to (Al-Mada), “the facilities provided by the Kurdistan Regional Government to citizens from the central and southern governorates of Iraq, and they can now buy real estate and register it in their names, and their transactions are proceeding completely smoothly.” Also, the investment companies that build residential complexes now include citizens from the central and southern governorates with the possibility of purchasing real estate in the region in installments, and the matter is not limited to citizens of the region, which has revived the real estate market movement.[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The agreement to pay the salaries of employees in the region gave guarantees to investment companies to sell real estate, including apartments and houses, to employees in Kurdistan, after they had hesitated to sell them, as their salaries were unstable.” He explained that “the establishment of new investment projects in the capital of the Kurdistan region, the city of Erbil, led to the revival of real estate movement, as strategic projects of bridges, giant streets, and factories are always an attractive force to raise real estate prices.” As a result of the crises that the Kurdistan region has experienced, from the salary crisis to the emergence of ISIS and its threat to the region’s borders, to the spread of the Corona virus, as well as the political conflict and the repeated targeting of Erbil and Kurdistan cities by armed factions, all of these reasons have led to a major stagnation in the real estate market. But the real estate sector, and with the Kurdistan region’s markets beginning to recover, life has begun to revive in this market, in preparation for a greater recovery.[/size]
[size=45]Impact of salary agreement[/size]
[size=45]Saleh Hussein Al-Jaf, the owner of a real estate office in Erbil, says that there are several reasons for the real estate market to recover.[/size]
[size=45]He explained in his interview with (Al-Mada), that “the first reason is due to the salary agreement and also its localization, and localization leads to economic stability, especially with the “My Account” project, which contains many advantages for the Kurdish employee, including bank loans.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “most residential complexes began selling homes in convenient installments, and this is an important reason for the recovery of the real estate market and the end of the recession seasons. The presence of thousands of Arab and foreign citizens in the region and the provision of facilities to them also led to the recovery of the real estate sector.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “In recent years, there has been a setback in the real estate market. There are more than 60 real estate offices in Erbil and its suburbs that have been closed because they cannot pay taxes, due to the lack of buying and selling.”[/size]
[size=45]In previous years, our work was limited to rents, but during the first months of the current year, especially after April, sales rates increased, and house and house prices increased at a varying rate, depending on the region and its demographic and commercial importance.[/size]
[size=45]Despite the financial crisis that struck the Kurdistan Region, the movement of investment and building strategic projects continued in the region, as a result of the economic agreements and commercial openness of the regional government to the international community.[/size]
[size=45]Praise for the region's procedures[/size]
[size=45]Citizens from the central and southern governorates praised the facilities provided by the regional government in the field of purchasing real estate.[/size]
[size=45]Ziad Al-Dulaimi, a citizen of Anbar Governorate, confirms that he bought a house in Sulaymaniyah in one of the residential complexes, and the transfer procedures were very fast and were completed in only 3 days.[/size]
[size=45]He told Al Mada: “These measures encourage citizens from other Iraqi governorates to buy real estate and invest in this field, especially with the low prices compared to the capital, Baghdad, and the rest of the other governorates.”[/size]
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