According to statistics released by the Central Bank of Iran, housing prices in the capital Tehran have increased by more than a thousand-fold in the past thirty years!
On February 18, the state-linked Eghtesad-e Bazaar website reported that housing prices have risen by 600 percent in the past two years. According to statistics published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the staggering increase in housing prices and rent in Tehran has witnessed an unprecedented rising trend since 2001. Tasnim is an outlet affiliated to the Quds Force of the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
These catastrophes are developing at a time when, according to an 8 June 2019 report by the state-run Eghtesad Online website, “There are six million renters in Iran! That means six million households.” In simpler terms, six million families in Iran cannot afford to purchase their own home.
Also, according to a report by the semi-official Resalat newspaper published on July 24, 2022, property prices in Tehran increased by ten-fold in an eight-month period.
In the past forty years, housing prices have increased six thousand-fold, and the price of gold has risen ten thousand-fold.
In an interview on March 9, with the state affiliated Ofogh TV network, Farhad Beizai on the other hand, when we look at the number of vacant houses (according to state statistics), the status quo becomes mind boggling. For example, on January 5, Iranian regime Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that there are 60,000 uninhabited residential areas across the country.
This means residential areas that have water, electricity, gas, and other urban services but are currently uninhabited. All the while, official statistics show that at least 19 million Iranians are living on slums and in poor housing conditions, according to an April 17 report published by the semi-official Shargh newspaper.
In such conditions, if anyone wants to build a house from the ground up, even with government loans, they should think twice. According to the state-run Etemad daily, housing loans are burdensome. A loan of 5.5 billion rials (equal to around $11,000) with a 20-year payment plan will finalize at around 25.56 billion rials (equal to around $51,000)!
At a time when land, materials, and labor are available, why aren’t we witnessing measures aiming at resolving Iran’s housing crisis? The mullahs are going down the same path with housing as they did with foreign currency, the stock market, people’s bank deposits, interest-free funds, foreign exchange, and the gold market. They are busy plundering these assets to fill their pockets and cover the costs of regime’s hallmark domestic suppression and support for foreign terrorism.
However, providing shelter for the family is not something to be ignored unless you expect people to start living in tents and caves.
In Iran, owning has become a luxury. There are many reports of people “living in graves”, “renting rooftops,” and “sleeping in shops,” especially among the country’s workers.
