Beytollah Setarian, a housing expert, said in an interview that Iran needs one million housing units annually, but only 200,000 houses are built. He added that only a “privileged and powerful class derived from a rent-seeking and corrupt economy” can afford to buy a house given the current conditions in the country.
Satarian, in an interview with the regimes Entekhab news website on April 29, referred to severe inflation in Iran and said that housing in the country has become a “luxury commodity” and “unattainable.”
The Central Bank announced an annual inflation rate of 52.3% for 2023, the highest annual inflation rate in 80 years.
Setarian attributed the problems in the housing sector to the inefficiency of macroeconomic policies in the country and said, “A closed and semi-Marxist government economy fosters an extremely capitalist rent-seeking economy within itself,” leading most of the society towards poverty.
On April 22, the state-run Etemad newspaper, by examining information on poverty rate data, wrote that a 10% growth in the poverty rate in two years means that about 8 million people have been added to the number of poor in the country.
Setarian criticized the government’s housing policies and added that the government’s slogan of housing construction discourages construction companies from entering this field and leads them to withdraw their capital from the market.
This expert emphasized that since the government announced the slogan of national housing, housing production has significantly decreased.
During his election campaign, Ebrahim Raisi promised to build one million housing units annually.
After intensifying criticisms of the government’s inability to fulfill this promise, Mohammad Mokhber, Raisi’s vice president, said in December 2022, “There is a difference between building housing and letting people build. The government should build a part; we can give land to the people so they can build themselves.”
Setarian further predicted in his interview with the Entekhab news website that housing prices would continue to rise this year.
He added, “2024 is like 50 years ago, a year of housing inflation… When housing prices increase, all associated parameters, including rent, will also increase. We might have much more than 40% inflation in prices and rent. The government just makes slogans.”
Official reports indicate a historic rise in house rent in 2023, with a 52% growth in the capital over one year.
A look at house rent amounts and messages from Iranian International’s audience shows that contrary to the claims of Iranian regime officials, rents have increased by an average of 130% in Tehran and other cities.
The examination of citizens’ messages on social media indicates that house rent has become one of the most important economic concerns for Iranians.
