According to an analysis of the real estate market in Turkey and Iran by the state-run Tejarat News, house prices in Istanbul, as one of the country’s major cities, were on average lower than Tehran in 2023.
Tejarat News refers to official statistics on housing prices in Tehran and states that the housing sector has experienced unprecedented price growth in recent years, to the point where the average price of an apartment in November 2023 has approached the range of 800 million rials (approximately $1,603) per square meter.
The report states that the economic data related to Turkey indicates that the country has faced numerous problems, including rising inflation, in line with Iran’s economy in recent years.
In comparing the real estate market data of Tehran and Istanbul, it is stated that the average house price in Tehran in January 2022 was around $1,300 per square meter, while during the same period, the price of houses in Istanbul exceeded $1,500 per square meter.
This report emphasizes that the price of houses in Istanbul has been on a downward trend and has reached $1,600 by September, while the price of houses in Tehran has started a new growth period and has reached $1,500.
Abdullah Meshkani, an economist, has attributed the lower cost of land and construction in Istanbul as the reason for the lower property prices compared to Tehran.
Reports indicate that the increase in housing prices in Iran has led to an increase in housing poverty.
In this regard, the media has reported a mandatory change in people’s preferences towards smaller houses of 40 square meters or less.
Based on this, the regime’s Donya-ye-Eghtesad newspaper reported on November 7 that statistics indicate a record number of inhabitants in houses with an area of up to 40 square meters in the capital during the current year.
According to the report, the share of “very small” houses with an area of up to 40 square meters in Tehran’s transactions has increased from 3.3% in 2018 to over 5.2% in 2023.
The report from the Iranian Statistical Center also shows that the average price per square meter of apartments has increased from 62 million rials (approximately $1,088) in spring 2018 to over 808 million rials (approximately $1,603) in September 2023.
The Iranian regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, had promised to build one million housing units per year during his election campaign.
On November 29, the state-run Ham-Mihan newspaper reported the remarks of Habibollah Sattarian, a university professor, saying, “For more than two decades, it has been necessary to build one million housing units every year, but ultimately only 300,000 units are produced.”
This housing economist added: The annual construction of “300,000 housing units” has also decreased in the past two years and has reached “200,000 housing units.”
In a situation where, based on the data published on November 20 by Iran Open Data, the price of “one serving of rice and Kebab” is twice the “daily food cost” of a worker, the idea of homeownership has become an unattainable dream for many income levels in Iran.
According to the early November report from the Donya-ye-Eghtesad newspaper, in the two-year project of “building one million housing units per year,” which Ebrahim Raisi repeatedly promised during his presidential election campaign in June 2021, the effective supply volume has reached “600,000 units,” and the effective demand has reached “650,000 individuals.”
On the other hand, in line with the housing crisis, Iranian regime-linked media announced on November 9, citing official statistics published in this sector, that this year’s contracts for tenants saw a “55% increase” compared to the previous year, which is more than twice the “historical average of this rate.”
