Iraq's real estate sector has come a long way. Post the fall of Saddam Hussein, property prices have risen exponentially in the country leading to a real estate boom. However, this boom will provide maximum opportunities for foreign investment in the area.
Iraq does not publish periodical housing price indices; therefore it is hard to determine the exact price rise rates. However, experts estimate that costs have gone up tenfold since 2003 in the country.
With the rise in private property prices, local buyers have been discouraged. Most of the property deals are made in cash and the tradition of loans and mortgages are technically nil in the area.
However, the shooting prices and the housing boom will pave way for foreign financial institutions and banks to set up branches in the country, reports IKJ News.
Kurdistan, a region of Iraq, has evolved over recent years. The area has opened its arms to embrace the culture of globalization and is set to become a major commercial and residential region of Iraq.
Population has gone up by 3 percent in the region in 2012. According to the statistics provided by the General Investment Authority of Kurdistan, 521 new projects worth $24 billion, funded by foreign and local investors, have taken off in the areas of Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah, reports Iraq Business News.
More recently, plans of building huge mixed-use project in the city of Erbil was declared by Empire World, a private real estate firm, and Falcon Group, a professional services firm in Iraq. "The Empire World Project" plans include building a residential wing, business towers and complexes and commercial space as well. The project will have around 300 luxury villas and 88 towers, all spread across an area of 1,250,000 square meters, slated to be completed by 2017.
"Empire World's state-of-the-art business facilities will offer the best business facilities in Kurdistan, making it both a business hub and a residence for the most demanding and important foreign companies operating in Kurdistan." Peshraw Majid Agha, Chairman of Empire World, told Marcopolis.
With increasing investment and cash flow from its gas and oil sector, if the real estate bubble bursts, it will probably have a soft landing, reports Marcopolis. Iraq may have been the underdog, but it will not fall low of the high expectations that it has set.
