Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Damascus- The residential and commercial real estate market in Syria has been witnessing unprecedented stalemates with the movement of buying and selling since last December, after the procedures for transferring real estate ownership in the real estate registry and temporary registry circles in various governorates have stopped.
On the other hand, the housing apartment rental market is active in a number of governorates, especially within the capital and its countryside, due to the arrival of thousands of Syrians returning to their country with long visits or stability after years of displacement, migration and asylum.
The average rate of purchase of apartments between the Syrian governorates varies in large proportions, and the real estate of Damascus and its suburbs is ranked first on the price ladder. In the real estate market in the near future, depending on the path of reconstruction and economic stability in the next stage.
Market stalemate
A number of real estate merchants and brokers in Syria, with which Al -Jazeera Net had contacted, confirmed the existence of a state of stagnation in the movement of buying and selling in the real estate market recently.
Ahmed Tamoush, director of a real estate office in the Al -Fahham area in Damascus, notes that this stalemate occurred recently against the background of the fluctuation of the exchange rate of the lira in front of foreign currencies, and the government departments – which are underway “real estate void” and the transfer of ownership – stopped the properties since the eighth of December. Last December.
Tamoush, in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, confirms that all the sale and purchase operations that take place in Damascus recently depend on confidence between the seller and the buyer, and the guarantees that the sales brokers can provide to the buyer by transferring the property ownership to his name as soon as state institutions return to work.
For his part, Faisal Al -Salem, the owner of a real estate office in Homs Governorate, indicates in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that this real estate stalemate is mainly linked to the lack of a fixed price for the price per square meter of apartments, shops or others in the Homs areas, and after the stability of the exchange rate, which is what People may push the prices of their real estate in proportion to the high exchange rate of the lira against the dollar.
The sales and purchase of residential apartments and other real estate was almost completely stopped in Lattakia Governorate, “because of the people’s fear of fluctuating prices and waiting for the stability of the dollar exchange rate,” according to Abdullah Khalil, a real estate developer in the province.
Expectations of great fluctuations in the real estate market in Syria in the near future, depending on the path of reconstruction and economic stability in the next stage
Prices in major cities
The average price of residential apartments varies, with an area of 100 square meters, with a good clothing on the first or second floor, between the major Syrian cities as follows:
- Aleppo city: The price of the apartment ranges from the previous specifications in the areas of Salah al-Din and al-Hamdaniyah between 150 and 175 million pounds (16-19 thousand dollars), while in the regions of Sulaymaniyah, Al-Azizia, and the Baghdad station, its price ranges between 300 and 500 million pounds (32-55 thousand dollars).
- Lattakia cityThe price of the apartment in the areas of Sheikh Daher, Al-Awainah, and the seventh project ranges between 200 and 400 million pounds (22-44 thousand dollars).
- Homs cityThe price of which ranges in areas such as the field, construction, and the generosity of Al-Shami between 200 and 500 million pounds (22-55 thousand dollars) depending on the quality of the cladding and the proximity of the region to the city center or after it.
- Deir Al -ZouR: The price of the apartment in most regions ranges between 150 and 175 million pounds (16-19 thousand dollars).
Prices in the capital, Damascus
In the capital, Damascus, and its suburbs, real estate prices record astronomical numbers, as:
- The price of the apartment in the sacrifices of a democratic and democratic project, with the same previous specifications, ranges between one billion and 1.5 billion pounds (110-170 thousand dollars), according to Azzam Ahmed, the owner of a real estate company in the Dummer project area.
- While the prices of apartments in the areas of Abu Rummana, Al -Maliki and Al -Misat in the city center, starting from one billion pounds (110 thousand dollars), rise to 30 billion pounds (about 3.3 million dollars), according to Nada Abdel Rahman’s speech, a real estate developer in the Al -Mazraa area, to Al -Jazeera Net .
- While these prices vary in the areas of Mazzeh, Zahra and Al-Midan, which are the neighborhoods of the capital, according to the quality of the costume, the view, the location, and construction services, to range between one billion and two billion pounds (110-220 thousand dollars).
The owners of real estate offices in various Syrian governorates are unanimously agreed that real estate prices have not witnessed a decline or a rise since the fall of the ousted President Bashar al -Assad in December last year, but there is a fake rise linked to the decline in the value of the dollar against the Syrian pound.
Causes of immobility and the future of the sector
In addition to the closure of the real estate registry departments, the Syrian economist Abdel Moneim Al -Halabi, a researcher in international economic relations, sees that the stalemate in the buying and purchase movement is mainly due to the high real estate prices in the residential and commercial sectors.
This height is attributed to the increase in construction costs on the one hand, and the lack of expansionist urban investments on the other hand.
On the other hand, there are expectations that real estate investments can be activated in the future, but a feeling of high prices leads to the postponement of deals, according to the same speaker.
The expert points to additional factors, namely:
- The disappearance of security concerns that were during the era of the previous regime, which negatively affected the demand.
- Reverse immigration for refugees, displaced persons and residents abroad to Syria, which will increase the demand for real estate in the coming months.
- The fluctuation of the exchange rate of the lira against the dollar and the “state of the dollar”, which controlled the Syrian economy, which plays a certain role in the two pricing and reaching the fair and balanced price of real estate.
- The expansion of the margin between the exchange rate of the official and parallel dollar, which reaches 30%, and this constitutes an obstacle to the stability of prices in general and certainly has a greater impact in the real estate sector.
As for the future of the real estate market in Syria, Al -Halabi believes that it is linked to the investment movement in the real estate sector and the ability to launch reconstruction projects in housing and infrastructure.
And he confirms that achieving this stability will give balanced prices that reflect the reality of costs, supply and demand, which contributes to restoring the natural conditions of the market.
