TEHRAN- Average housing price increased 3.1 percent in Tehran City during the fifth Iranian calendar month of Mordad (ended on August 22), compared to its previous month, according to a report by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

According to the CBI data, the average price for one square meter of a residential unit in the capital city during the mentioned month increased 34 percent compared to the same month in the previous year, IRIB reported on Sunday.

As reported, despite the month-on-month increase, the year-on-year trend of the growth for housing prices in the capital city since the beginning of the current fiscal year (started on March 21) has been downward because the prices had increased 43.7 percent, 56.6 percent, 69.7 percent, and 91.7 percent in the fourth, third, second and first Iranian calendar months, respectively, compared to the same months last year.

The number of real estate deals increased 8.4 percent in the past month to reach 5,500 deals. The number of deals, however, fell 39.4 percent in comparison to the last year’s same month.

The housing market in Tehran was the second-highest returning market in Iran among the country’s four major markets in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) with 85 percent annual growth.

The information obtained from Kilid website (which is a major platform for housing trades) indicated that the housing price index in Tehran grew by 85 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) compared to its preceding year.

The highest monthly price increase of 12.5 percent occurred in the Iranian calendar month of Mordad (July 22-August 21, 2020), while the biggest monthly price decrease occurred in Azar (November 21-December 20, 2020) with a decline of 8.1 percent.

Back in April, the head of Iran’s Property Advisers Union said housing prices in the country should decrease at least 25 percent in order for people to be able to afford to purchase.

Mostafa Gholi Khosravi stressed the need for establishing a market regulation headquarters for the housing sector to monitor the activities of dealers and real estate agencies in order to balance the prices.

Housing prices in Iran have been constantly rising over the past year due to various internal and external factors.

Coronavirus has been reported to be a major factor affecting the housing prices in Iran as the pandemic has stoked concerns about losing one’s savings and more people entered the housing market.

“People are turning to the housing market in order to protect their savings in the face of rising inflation. No one sees housing as a short-term consumer commodity. Even real consumers view purchasing a home as a long-term investment,” Mehdi Soltan-Mohammadi, a housing expert, said.

EF/MA