TEHRAN- Housing price in Tehran city has risen 1.9 percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar month (August 22-September 5), from the first half of the previous year, according to the latest report released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

The CBI’s report put the average price for one square meter of a residential unit at 235 million rials (about $5,595) in the capital city during the first half of the present month, Tasnim news agency reported.

According to the CBI’s previous report, the housing price in Tehran city has risen 10.5 percent in Mordad, which is the fifth month of the Iranian calendar year (July 22-August 21), from its previous month.

The CBI report also indicates that the housing price in the capital city has risen 77.4 percent in the fifth month of this year, from the same month of the previous year.

The report put the average price of one square meter of a house at 231.1 million rials (about $5,502) in the capital city.

Meanwhile, the number of real estate deals has fallen 35.4 percent in Tehran in the fifth month of this year compared to the fourth month, while rising 175.8 percent compared to the same month of the past year.

Earlier this month, Mostafa Qoli Khosravi, the chairman of Real Estate Agencies Union, said, “The housing market is now passing an acceptable trend, and we are seeing growth in the number of deals.”

But what is witnessed in the capital city does not seem acceptable at all. Jumping prices in Tehran’s housing sector is not what the people can afford.

In early May, the deputy head of the Tehran Real Estate Association had said, “The housing market is experiencing inflation and rise in prices, both in terms of rentals and sales, but the rise in prices is not going to be like the last year's sudden surge.”

Hesam Oqbaei said, “Last year when house prices experienced a 100-percent growth, rent prices rose by as much as 30 percent. Of course, this year we anticipate that rent growth will not reach inflation and will stay below the inflation rate.”

Oqbaei underlined the lack of balance in supply and demand as the main reason for the upward trend in housing prices and said since there are not enough bank facilities available to homebuyers, more people will stay as tenants and the demand for house rents increases, so consequently rent prices will also rise in areas where there is an imbalance between supply and demand.

MA/MA